


The long wait

by 4gardiean



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Halbarad lives, Houses of Healing, War of the Ring
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-31 06:37:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 59,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15113852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4gardiean/pseuds/4gardiean
Summary: Halbarad has been left behind in Minas Tirith when the host leaves for Morannon. While there he meets Faramir, the current steward of Gondor, who is also recovering from his injuries and has been left behind. Now they have to wait to see how the march will turn out. See how they spend their time.





	1. Chapter 1

**March 18th, Third Age**

Halbarad is resting calmly in his private room in the Gondorian wing of the Houses of Healing and is trying to sleep a bit. He doesn't have anything else to do because the warden and his cousin have forbidden him from leaving his bed without aid. This still annoys him greatly as he wants to be out in the air and not stuck in this room. Halbarad knows that he wants to see what is happening for as much as he will be able to see from Minas Tirith. He has never been able to cope well with having no influence over important things nor be able to watch them. It makes him feel useless. The only thing he can do now is resting and sleeping as there is nothing for him to occupy himself with besides brooding. The visits from Aphadon Halbarad greatly enjoys as it takes his mind of any possible brooding. Aphadon is a friend from his youth and also a captain. He has told him not to brood and to take all rest he can while he has the time for it. That way Halbarad will be up and about earlier. When Aphadon comes to visit Halbarad can talk to someone about what is on his mind. This is really refreshing as it calms him down from worrying.

Just as Halbarad is about to fall asleep he hears the door to his room opening and turns to look to see who is coming to visit him. He is surprised to see that it is the warden, master Neston. Halbarad learned his name during one of the warden’s previous visits. It still surprises him that the warden himself checks on him. Halbarad believes that Neston has enough work to do and doesn't need to take on more work when one of the other healers is more than capable of doing it. When he mentioned it to Neston Halbarad got an annoyed reaction. Master Neston told him that he always personally checks on the important patients in the houses of healing. After a short discussion, Halbarad admitted defeat for it became clear to him that he wouldn't be able to win. Ever since he has allowed master Neston to check on his wounds.

"Good morning, my lord. Did you rest well tonight?" Master Neston asks with an expected look on his face.

"I had a good night and thus rested well. In fact, I was trying to sleep a bit more when you came in." Halbarad tells master Neston. He gave this answer for he could tell that master Neston expected such an answer from him.

"That is a good thing, my lord. I do hope you will be able to rest a bit after I have checked on your wound." Master Neston says while moving closer to the bed Halbarad is lying in. He doesn't show any particular reaction to the reaction he got on his question. Master Neston takes his time to carefully check the wound. He doesn't want to miss anything that could cause troubles in the future. Once master Neston is satisfied that he has seen everything he needs to see he turns back to Halbarad and says.

"My lord, your wound is healing well. I believe that only a scar will be left by this wound once it is fully healed."

"That is good to hear. Does that mean that I can finally leave this room?" Halbarad asks hopefully. If he is honest with himself than he has had enough of spending so much time inside. He feels that urgently needs to spend time outside or he will lose his mind. He knows that he never liked spending much time inside buildings unless it is considered necessary. Even then he takes every opportunity he can find to leave the building and spend some time outside.

"No, my lord. You need to rest for another two days. Afterward, you can go outside for a short time if you wish to do so. You can't be outside for long in the beginning as you need to build up strength again. You need to slowly increase the time you spend outside. That way you won't get a setback." Master Neston explains and waits for an answer from his patient.

"Thank you, master Neston. It greatly eases my heart to know that I soon will be able to go outside. I will, of course, take someone with me the first few days that I go outside." Halbarad tells the warden in an attempt to pacify him.

"That is good to hear, my lord. I will leave you now so that you can rest. I have other patients that need my care. Good day, my lord." The warden tells Halbarad and promptly leaves the room.

Halbarad is glad to know that soon he will be able to go outside. Also, he is grateful that the warden left a few hours before Aphadon arrives. Once his friend is here then it will be unlikely that he will get much rest for the remainder of the day. The time he has left Halbarad decides to make the most of by resting.

* * *

A few hours later a Dúnedain captain names Aphadon enters the room Halbarad is staying in. Aphadon is a Dúnedain of around eighty-five years of age. His injuries are still healing and visible for he still has a bandage around his head and a bandaged arm in a sling. These injuries are the result of a hit over the head during the battle. The hit knocked him out and when he fell he cut his arm open on the armor of a dead orc. He was quite lucky that no enemy noticed that he was just unconscious. If they had then he would surely have been killed even though at that time he was defenseless. For that Halbarad is glad because it means that he didn't lose a good friend.

"Good morning, Mellon nin. Did you rest well tonight?" Aphadon asks once he took a seat on the chair that stands near Halbarad's bed. He knows that his friend will have expected him for whenever one of them is injured the other always come to visit.

"Good morning to you too, Aphadon. I did have a good night rest until the warden and you interrupted my peaceful rest. Can you not give an injured person the time to take the rest he needs?" Halbarad asks teasingly. He can't leave out the opportunity to tease his friend a bit. When Halbarad looks at Aphadon he can tell that his friend is curious about the visit of the warden.

"I would have given nearly everyone the rest they need except you. You deserve to have your rest interrupted by me." Aphadon answers with laughter in his eye. He is glad that his friend can still banter with him as it shows that his friend is not so badly injured as he feared.

"You are the worst friend I ever had. Get out!" Halbarad answers back.

"No, I won't. You'll have to learn to deal with it" Aphadon says before his expression grows serious and he asks.

"Well, what did the warden tell you?"

"He told me that my wound is healing well and that in two days’ time I will be allowed to leave the room for short periods of time. To pacify him I gave him my word that I will take someone with me the first few days. Do you know anyone who could accompany me then?" Halbarad asks. He wants to know who will be able to accompany him so that he knows what he can do and talk about.

"A good thing you did that, mellon nin. And yes, I know a few of our men who will be able to accompany you in two days’ time." Aphadon answers. He shares a room with everyone else who came from the north to the aide of their lord and was injured in the fighting. They are all jealous that Halbarad has been given a private room. They would have liked to share it with him because then their room would not feel so crowded as it does now. That his friend needs to rest for the next two days doesn't surprise Aphadon at all considering what he knows of his friend's injury.

"That is good to know. Will you inform them?" Halbarad asks because he won't be able to approach them. Also, if they don't know that they are to accompany him then it will not be possible for him to leave the room in two days’ time. And that is something which he wants to avoid at all cost. Once he receives a nod in acknowledgment from Aphadon he asks.

"What did you come to talk about, Mellon nin? I'm sure that you did not come to simply talk about my injuries."

"No, I did not. I would like to talk about what we will be doing in the coming days. I have heard that the lord Elfhelm has been left in charge of the cities safety. Also, I heard that our lord and most of the uninjured have left for Morannon. Do you possibly know what they will be doing there?" Aphadon asks. He hopes that Halbarad knows the answers to his questions because that would take some worry from him. He doesn't like it when he has nothing to do. He wants to help out as much as he is able to.

"I do know that they are marching on to Morannon and will be making a last stand there against the enemy. That is what I have managed to gather, but I also have the impression that it is not the real reason for them to leave. But for what that reason is, I have no idea. Aragorn didn't tell me that and I believe that there are but few in the city to know the real reason. I haven't met those people yet thus can't tell you what the real reason is for the march. But for what we will be doing, I imagine that we will spend most of our time recovering from our injuries. If you want to do something I suggest you ask the healers if there is something which you can do to help them. I imagine that there is little else for you to do until you are fully recovered." Halbarad tells his friend. He can sympathize with him when it concerns doing nothing but knows that there is nothing to do about it. Until both are fully recovered they will not be able to do a lot unless there are emergencies.

"Of course the lord chieftain would not tell you that. If you don't accompany him then you will only know what you need to now and nothing more. You would do the same were you in his position, am I right?" Aphadon asks. After Halbarad confirms it he says.

"As for asking the healers for something to do, I will surely act on your recommendation. You, Mellon, won't be able to do that as you need to ensure that you fully recover. I'm sure Annel will be more than relieved to know that you are alive and recovering from your injuries." Aphadon says with a glint in his eyes. Halbarad instantly knows what he is aiming at.

"I know my wife will be happy when she learns that I'm alive and recovering once she receives a message about it. When she sees me again she will more than likely skin me alive for nearly dying and making her a widow." Halbarad answers with a laugh. He acts jovially about it but what he says he means seriously. He knows that his wife will do what he said she would do because she loves him deeply and doesn't want to lose him any time soon. Whenever he had to go on a patrol she would fret about his safety and health until the day he returned home. She was always incredibly relieved to see him returning to him even if he came back injured. At those times she would nurse him back to health. It always served to amuse the entire village. No matter how often they have witnessed it. They would say that it is a show of her love for him to do so. It would always serve to annoy him as he wants to take care of himself and doesn't like relying on others.

"Why don't you write her then? The people here would surely ensure that you have everything you need to write to your wife." Aphadon says. He knows that Annel would be more relieved to receive a message from her husband than from anyone else informing her about her husband's survival. He knows that the healers will give Halbarad what he needs to write his wife is he asks for it.

"I would do so if I could be sure that is is possible to send a messenger north. I don't know enough to be able to determine if a messenger can be sent north safely. Besides I don't know if the city can miss them nor do I know if a messenger can leave the city at all. But most importantly I do not know if the road is safe. I am not willing to send a messenger north and possibly into his own death. That is why I will have to be patient. Hopefully, in time, I will learn if it is possible to send a messenger north." Halbarad says. He has his doubts if it is possible to send a messenger for as long as there is no message from the march to Morannen. He intends to wait for so long with sending a message to his wife. If it goes wrong then he knows that there is still a chance that he will die in an attempt to allow the wounded and healers to escape the city. He doesn't want to give Annel hope only for her to learn later on that he was killed. He doesn't want her hope for his return to be crushed. He believes that it is better to have her wait anxiously for news than to hope for his return and have it crushed later on.

"Well, if you have made up your mind then I won't argue with you. I will leave you to rest for the remainder of the day. Unless of course, someone else decides to disturb your rest. I hope you will have a good day, my lord Halbarad" Aphadon says formally. He only acts like this to annoy his friend a bit. The reaction always tells something about his friends state of mind.

Halbarad gives Aphadon a mean scowl because he doesn't like it when his friend acts like this. He decides to rest for the remainder of the day and hopes that he won't be disturbed by anyone wanting to talk to him. He keeps eye contact with Aphadon until Aphadon looks away. Then Aphadon stands up and walks out fo the room.  At the same time Halbarad turns his head away from him and doesn't say anything. He knows that his friend won't take it as an offense but understands that he is displeased with behavior.

Aphadon meanwhile calmly leaves the room happy with the reaction he got from his friend. His behavior will have lifted Halbarad's spirit some and that is what he intended to do. Even though Halbarad is currently displeased with his behavior. As he leaves the room he sees a Gondorian walking away from the garden. Aphadon knows that the garden is in that direction from which the Gondorian came for he took a walk in the garden during the early hours of this morning. He nods once to the Gondorian and continues on his way back to his own room.

Meanwhile, the Gondorian is surprised by what he heard. He heard the last part of the conversation that took place in the room. He finds it strange that a lord has a room in the Gondorian wing and not the noble wing where all the injured nobility has a room. Normally, only the common men will reside in this wing of the houses of healing. He decides that he will talk with the warden about what he heard. He wants to have this situation sorted out.


	2. Chapter 2

Not long after Faramir overheard the conversation between one of the northern Dúnedain and a northern lord he is making his way to the warden. He wants to know why a northern lord is housed in the Gondorian wing and not in the noble wing where he should be housed in Faramir's opinion. He knows that it is a northern lord who resides in the room he walked by as he heard how he was addressed. The room is one of those assigned to the northern Dúnedain who came with the Lord Aragorn to the defense of the city. This he learned from the men he met and talked to in the garden. They also told him that he hailed the Lord Aragorn as king and this he remembers clearly. The reason why he recognized the lord as Gondor's king for he has seen him in the visions he had in the past. Still, visions don't tell him anything about what kind of a person the lord Aragorn is. Will he be a kind person or will he be harsh? This Faramir has been contemplating ever since he woke up yesterday evening. Another matter on his mind is his much the lord will know about Gondor and how much he cares about his beloved country. This also makes his mind turn to his own future. For now, he knows that he will be ruling steward of Gondor. The last to ever rule Gondor until the king takes the throne. Something he finds difficult to comprehend right now. He is aware that he has found get used to seeing himself as the steward of Gondor. A position which should have belonged to his brother and not himself.

But what will happen to him after the king takes the throne, he doesn't know. Will he be allowed to hold a high office, be allowed to reside in Minas Tirith or will he be ordered to leave the city and live somewhere else? It raddles him that he doesn't have an answer to his questions. Had he known the lord Aragorn then Faramir knows that he might be able to predict what his future will look like. Or at least be able to tell how real each option is. He shakes his head once and takes a deep breath to bring his mind back into order. He knows that the only way for him to answer his questions is to learn more about the lord Aragorn. The northern lord might be able to tell him something about the lord Aragorn, Faramir thinks. He knows that he won't ask the lord directly for that would be rude to do. Not to mention it might be seen as gossiping something which he despises immensely. Also, it might not give a good impression of himself and as he doesn't know how close the lord and the lord Aragorn are he doesn't want to take an unnecessary risk. The lord has to tell him himself but as to how he will ensure that the lord will talk about Lord Aragorn Faramir doesn't know just yet. It is then that he comes upon the warden's office and sees the warden walking to his office. He comes from the direction of the Rohirrim wing which tells him that the warden has been seeing to patients or talking to other healers.

"My lord, is there something I can help you with?" Master Neston asks once he has approached Faramir. He saw him walking to his office just as he came back from his visit to the Rohirrim wing. He wants to know why the lord is here. As far as he knows there isn't anything which would explain why the lord Faramir searched him out.

"I would like to talk to you about something if you have any time for it. I do not want to keep you from your duties, master warden." Faramir says. He hopes that the warden has time for him for he wants to know why a lord is not housed in the noble wing while he knows that there are rooms available. He knows that there are rooms available because he inquired about it earlier before seeking the warden out.

"I do have some time at my disposal for us to talk, my lord. Let us talk in my office. We can talk there undisturbed and without being overheard." Master Neston says and guides Faramir into his office. Faramir feels amused by the warden's statement for he knows that they still can be overheard if someone walks past the office. He decides to stay quiet about it as he believes that the warden likely knows about it. Once they are in the office the warden mentions for Faramir to sit down on one of the chairs while walking to one of the cabinets in the room. Once there he opens the cabinet and asks.

"Would you like to have some tea, my lord? I always have some brought to my office at this time of the day as I do my paperwork then."

"That would be appreciated, master warden." Faramir says calmly and he sees the warden nodding in acknowledgment.

The warden then takes two cups out of the cabinet and places them on his desk. Once he has done that he walks to the fireplace to take the kettle off the fire. Afterward, he pours for each of them a cup of tea.

"What is it that you want to talk about, my lord?" Master Neston asks one he sits on his chair behind his desk.

"Half an hours ago, I walked past a room in the Gondorian wing belonging to the northern Dúnedain when I heard one of them addressing the other as lord. He told the lord Halbarad that he would let him rest for the remainder of the day. I was greatly surprised by this and still wonder why a lord is not housed in the noble wing when there are rooms available. I know there are rooms available for I inquired about it. Do you know why that is?" Faramir asks the warden.

"I only know of one person by that name but was unaware that he is lord. I gave him that room when the lord Aragorn asked me to find a room for his cousin. I did not think it an issue to give him that room because the lord Aragorn and he himself did not say anything about it." Master Neston says with a shy smile. He knows that the person lord Faramir is asking about is kin to the lord Aragorn. But that it also means that he is a lord, master Neston did not know. He is not that familiar with the nobility to know such things. Actually, he rarely interacts with nobility he does not know or who is not afraid to reveal their heritage to him. They would never have accepted a room outside of the noble wing. Both facts do not conform to the kind of nobility he is familiar with. That a nobleman would not mention it is a strange concept to him.

"Master Neston, that should have told you that he is a lord or at the very least someone of a noble birth." Faramir tells the warden. That he is kin to the lord Aragorn makes him royalty in his opinion. That makes the room he occupies now an even bigger problem. Royalty should always be housed in the noble wing and never in the wing for commoners. That wing always has guards stationed near the entrance who keep an eye on who enters the wing. The lord Halbarad should be housed there so that his safety is as much assured as is possible. Faramir does not want to risk the safety of the kin of the lord Aragorn. He does not know how the lord will react to having his cousin in danger when it could be avoided.

"My lord, I could not know for at the time I was not aware of the status of the lord Aragorn. I was unaware that he is the heir to the throne. Had I known I would have consulted with the master of Protocol about his housing. Besides, they never said anything about the room. You know as well as I do that the nobility of Gondor would have been outraged by the room. When no one said anything I thought I had found him an appropriate room." Master Neston says. He knows he acts defensively but then he does not appreciate having his authority in the houses questioned.

"I do not blame you, master Neston, considering the situation you described to me. It would have confused one of my father's servants even. Also, I am aware that you had a few busy days behind you at that time. But, let us not argue about it anymore. I will talk to my father's secretary, I mean my secretary, about that and let you know what we have decided to do about it. Before I leave I would like to know if there is anything you can tell me about the lord Halbarad?" Faramir asks. He knows that he can ask the warden directly as he is of lower rank than himself. Besides he knows that the warden will answer his question fo the best of his abilities.

"There is not much I can tell you, my lord. I do not know the lord well but I know that the lord Aragorn and he are close friends. Also, the lord Halbarad's son has left with the host to Morannen and acts as the lord's standard-bearer. A position he took over from his father when he got injured. From what I could gather the son who left with the host is his oldest and he left a younger son behind in the north with his wife. I am not sure if he has more children." Master Neston answers. He gives this information freely to lord Faramir for he is not a gossip as most ladies are. They would be interested in this kind of information for their own benefit. That is why he knows that he would not have told them what he told Lord Faramir.

"Thank you, master Warden. I will take my leave now and leave you to your work." Faramir says before standing up and leaving the office.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Faramir is sitting on his bed in his room in the healing houses thinking about a solution concerning Halbarad's housing. He wants to have him in the noble wing but didn't insist on having the warden solve it. He knows that the warden was disturbed when he bought it up during their unplanned meeting. That is why he did not insist on having the warden solve it but decided that he would look into possible solutions. Currently, he is the Ying to find a solution which will not invoke questions. He is so lost in his thoughts that he does not hear his secretary entering the room.

"Good afternoon, my lord." Faramir's secretary, Tegeldir, says as he enters. He is surprised to see that his lord is deep in thoughts. This makes him wonder what has captured his lord's mind so deeply just one day after the host left the city.

"Good afternoon, master Tegeldir. I am sorry that I did not hear you entering. I was thinking about some matter." Faramir says. He can see that Tegeldir is holding a stack of papers in his hands. This makes him speculate if they need these papers for their meeting. He does this because he does not know why master Tegeldir asked to meet with him. He only learned about it this morning when he woke up and Beregond told him that master Tegeldir asked to meet with him. He would not be surprised if Tegeldir asked permission from the warden for this meeting. No one disturbs the patients in the house without permission from the warden if they are not kin. That is a rule he learned when he was a young captain. He sees master Tegeldir walking to the table in his room. He knows that they will have their meeting there as he expected. Thus he walks to the table and joins him there. Once they are both sitting, Faramir asks.

"Master Tegeldir, might I know why you have called this meeting?"

"There are some matters I wanted to discuss with you, my lord. But before that, I would like to know if there is anything you want to talk about with me?" Master Tegeldir asks. He hints at the matter the lord steward was thinking about to make sure that it will not impede the work they need to finish during this meeting. They need to finish it because the warden told him that there will be no meetings for the remainder of the day. His lord needs to rest once this meeting is finished. As for what his lord was thinking abut he knows that he will only learn what it was if his lord is willing to share it with him.

"That can wait till later, master Tegeldir. Let us first discuss the matters you want to discuss." Faramir says. He wants to have the matters that take preference discussed before talking about the situation of the lord Halbarad. Well, he sees the matters master Tegeldir plans to discuss as having a preference over the matter he was thinking about.

"Of course, my lord. I have brought papers with me that will help us sort everything out as well as some spare paper for us to write notes on." Master Tegeldir says. He prepared this meeting as if he would do so for a meeting with the lord Denethor. That is why he brought the spare papers with him and why he made a planning of what they need to discuss.

"That was thoughtful of you, master Tegeldir." Faramir says and can see a small smile appearing on the secretary's face.

"Thank you, my lord. Let us start by discussing the state of the city and go from there." Master Tegeldir says after having taken a look at the planning for the meeting.

For the next twenty minutes, they talk about the state of the city and what reconstructions will need to be done as soon as possible. For the actual implementation, Faramir directs master Tegeldir to the lord Hurin. He knows that lord Hurin has taken over the rule of the city when his uncle left until he himself will be able to attend to his office. Thus he is sure that lord Hurin will make sure that the important reconstructions will be done. It is then that they make a list of reconstructions that can wait to be done later. They prioritize this latest list according to the importance of the repairs. When they are done master Tegeldir carefully puts the lists away so that he can place them in the archive later.

Then they move to the subject of housing. They need to find a way to house all the warriors as well as the citizens inside the city. This proves to be a challenging aim because many houses and building are damaged. This excludes the entire building or one or more rooms from being usable for housing. In the end, they manage to find housing for everyone but it required everyone to share rooms and buildings. Next, they discuss the topic of feeding everyone. It runs out that it is impossible to bring food from the neighboring fiefdoms and the stores of the city need to be used. Still, these stores are limited and this frustrates Faramir because he does not want to have people starving. To avoid this the food will have to be rationed for everyone. Based on all these decisions orders are written for the lord Hurin to sign later.

"Master Tegeldir, now that we have discussed the needs of the city and its inhabitants I would like to know how the defense of the city is being organized. Who is in charge and how many men are present?" Faramir asks. Based on the answer he gets he will know how much work he will have to do. Even though he had not yet taken on his duty as steward Faramir knows that he is still responsible for the entire city. Lord Hurin only acts in his stead until the warden releases him.

"Your uncle took on your duties before he left with the host. He left the marshal Elfhelm in charge of the city's defense. The marshal has an around a thousand men at his disposal. These men consist of both Gondorians and Rohirrim. In fact, there are more Rohirrim left than Gondorians if I read this correctly." Master Tegeldir says while looking at the document which holds the number of men left to defend the city.

"Who is this marshal Elfhelm. I have never heard of him. But based on his name I imagine he is one of the Rohirrim." Faramir says. He is not surprised to hear that a Rohirrim has been left in charge. There are few Gondorian officers around who have a sufficient enough rank and experience to be left in charge of the city's defense. He has learned already that those officers left with the host so it would make sense to leave a Rohirrim in charge.

"I do not know either, my lord. Your uncle left in charge on king Éomer's recommendation. He and the king have formed a strong bond during the battle. For as far as I know your uncle trusts the king on his word. The king spoke highly of the marshal." Master Tegeldir explains. He can see that something is confusing his lord. He has an idea what confuses him.

"Did king Théoden die in the battle?" Faramir asks because as far as he knows Théoden is king of Rohan. To have another called king means that Théoden had to have died. This makes him wonder what else he has missed when he was affected by the Black Breath. He did learn yesterday evening from his uncle that his father killed himself and attempted to also kill him when he believed the battle to be lost. His uncle only told him because of his insistence that he wanted to talk with his father. He had been wondering why he father never visited for a few hours then. Whenever he was injured or ill then his father would always spend time with him in the evenings no matter his duties during the day. No matter how little it turned out to be sometimes.

"Yes, my lord. He was killed by the Witch-king of Angmar who in turn was killed by the lady Éowyn, sister to the king Éomer. King Théoden's body has been given into the care of the embalmers until king Éomer can escort his body home. That is if the march turns out to be a success." Master Tegeldir says. He knows how bleak the prospects are because everyone knows that there is little chance of them surviving. It is nothing more than suicide. Why it was agreed to march onto Morannen he does not know.

"Prince Imrahil made that decision, am I right?" Faramir asks for confirmation. By saying this he knows that he tells master Tegeldir that he agrees with the decision. He refrains from talking about the march because he is sure that they both have the same opinion about it. The only difference is that he knows that the march left in an attempt to give Frodo a chance to fulfill his mission.

"Yes, my lord. Prince Imrahil made the decision in consultation with king Éomer." Master Tegeldir says. He never suspected that his lord would disagree with the decision made by prince Imrahil. Then the conversation falls silent for a few short time until Faramir ends it by asking.

"Would you be willing to arrange a meeting with the marshal Elfhelm and the remaining captains so that we can discuss the city's defense?"

"Of course, my lord. When do you want to meet with them?" Master Tegeldir asks while preparing to write down the date. He should have known that his lord would ask for this. For as long as can remember lord Faramir has wanted to consult with others to make sure everything is done correctly. Still, he fears what the reaction of the warden will be. He is sure that it will not be a nice reaction. Most likely the warden will either be angry or upset that one of his patients is not taken the appropriate rest.

"I would like to meet with them tomorrow afternoon if it is possible to do so." Faramir says. From the look on master Tegeldir's face, he knows what he is thinking about. He feels with him but deems the meeting important enough to upset the warden. He wants to know how the defense is organized. Not that he does not trust the captains and the marshal. He simply wants to have an insurance that everything has been planned correctly. Also, it is better for him to know how the defense of the city is organized in case worst comes to worst and he needs to take command of some troops.

"Of course it will be possible to do so, my lord. I will make sure that everything has been prepared before tomorrow." Master Tegeldir answers nearly immediately while writing down the date for the meeting and who he needs to inform about it. Also, he quickly makes a list of things he needs to prepare. He does not want to forget something and learn about it when it is to late to resolve it. He always prides himself on fulfilling his assignment completely. To forget something would be a shame he would not want to experience ever.

"Thank you, master Tegeldir." Faramir says with a smile. He knows that everything will be ready before the meeting takes place. The secretary is efficient and perceptive. But most importantly he never does anything by halves. Also, he always manages to obtain the information that will prove useful in the future. This has always ensured that his father knew what was going on and now he will do the same. It makes the duty of steward easier to bear.

"My lord, Are you aware that there are northern Dúnedain present in the houses of healing?" Master Tegeldir asks.

"Yes, I am. I overheard a northern lord and one of the northern Dúnedain talking when I came back from a walk in the garden. But now that you mention their presence, do you know how many of them are present in the houses?" Faramir asks. He would like to know this because he is interested to know how many came to Gondor's aid. He appreciates it because he is sure that in the north they will also be facing attacks. Faramir does not doubt that master Telgeldir is unable to answer his question which he confirms.

"From what I know there should be ten Dúnedain in the houses. Five died during the battle of Pelennor field while another fifteen have gone with the host and their lord." Master Tegeldir answers. He give his lord more information than he has been asked to provide because he wants to make certain that his lord knows how many came from the north. It will aide him during any further planning he has to do.

"So there were thirty men who came from the north." Faramir concludes.

"That is correct, my lord. May I ask if you would possibly know where the northern steward is housed? I heard that he was wounded during the battle and brought to the houses where he is being treated for his wounds." Master Tegeldir explains.

"Who do you mean, master Tegeldir. I do not know who this steward is or in which room he resides. But I believe that the northern steward should actually be called the steward of Arnor." Faramir says. He is confused why master Tegeldir would ask about this person. This question he would expect lord Hurin to ask about he will need to provide appropriate rooms for the steward if he is in Minas Tirith.

"The name of the northern steward is Halbarad." Master Tegeldir says.


	3. Chapter 3

"Excuse me, what did you say the name of the steward of Arnor is?" Faramir asks shocked. He hopes that he misheard the name. He does not even want to consider what the implications are if he heard the name correctly. At least until he is sure about the name of the steward.

"I said, my lord, that the northern steward is called Halbarad." Master Tegeldir says and wonders why his lord would ask such a question. He is not known to misunderstand something which he is told. He wonders if his lord could have possibly heard the name somewhere before, considering his shock. Even though he wants to know the actual reason for his lord's question and shock he knows that his lord will have to tell him this on his own violation. It would be a breach of protocol for a peasant to ask a lord to explain themselves. And because he is a peasant it applies to him.

When master Tegeldir looks at his lord he can see that his lord is completely surprised by the name he gave. This confuses him immensely because he does not know why the name of the northern steward would call for such a reaction. It is the same confusion he had when his lord asked him for confirmation. That is why he dares to ask.

"My lord, what has you so surprised about the steward's name? If I may ask that is."

He worries what his lord's reaction will be because he has never intended to insult his lord. Also, he knows that by asking he is risking his position. Lord Denethor would most likely have dismissed him for asking while also being highly upset by the question.

"The only Halbarad I know is a cousin to the lord Aragorn. He resides here in the houses which would implicate that he is wounded. I am sure that there is no one who else in the houses who has the same name and is also from the north. It surprises me to learn that he holds such a high position. You are aware of the implications it carries, are you?" Faramir asks. Looking at the secretary he sees confusion and decides to explain what he means. He hopes that his explanation will solve the confusion.

"That the lord Halbarad holds such a high position signifies that the lord Aragorn prefers to surround himself with family and trusted people. It also signifies that he is not entirely comfortable with granting high positions to people who are unknown to him. Besides, it could also mean that he intends to make plenty of changes once he takes the throne."

Faramir believes the position to be an appointed one as his own has been in the past. If it is still he does not know but bases everything on the belief that it still is. He refrains from mentioning that he is certain that many of the changes would not be accepted by Gondor's nobility. Nor will it make his task of preparing the land for the king any easier. Once the lords of Gondor learn of it they will not be willing to accept a king as their lord. They do not want to potentially lose their power nor their lands to an unknown lord. Especially if this lord intends to make large changes to the real. This means that it is even more important for him to talk with the lord Halbarad, who he now knows is the steward of Arnor, to learn what kind of a person and lord the lord Aragorn is. Besides that, he also needs to learn about lord Aragorn's intentions for Gondor once he takes the throne. Hopefully, lord Halbarad has the answers he seeks.

Not to mention what this information means for his own future. It has him expecting a dismissal the day the king takes the throne. That means that he needs to start looking at the possibilities that the will still exist for his own future. He does not expect to be allowed to hold a high office based on the information he has. But now he needs to focus on the meeting with master Tegeldir. Afterward, he can start to plan his future.

"My lord, where have you heard that the steward is the king's cousin? I was unaware of this." Master Tegeldir says confused. No one told him that the lord Halbarad is a cousin to their future king. Having known this would have meant that he would have handled certain matters differently. One of them is ensuring the proper housing of the steward. Now he has to see if his lord knows where he resides. Also, he is interested in learning who told his lord this. He does not think that many would have known this information without spreading it around.

"I learned that from the warden when I asked him about the rooming of a lord. When I walked passed a room I heard a Dúnedain addressing the other as lord. That is why I wanted to know why a lord is not housed in the noble wing but in the Gondorian wing. He told me that the lord Aragorn asked him to find a room for his cousin. I told him that that should have told him that he has been asked to find a room for a lord. On that, he told me that no one protested the room. That is why he deemed the room appropriate together with the amount of work he had in the days before and had waiting for him. The warden did not tell me that lord Halbarad is the steward of Arnor. If that is because he is unaware of it or not, I do not know." Faramir explains. He makes sure to keep his explanation short so that they can solve the problem soon.

"You are telling me that the steward of Arnor, a cousin to the lord Aragorn, is housed in the Gondorian wing?" Master Tegeldir asks stunned. He is aware that lord Aragorn is their future king. He is appealed that lord Aragorn's cousin resides in a room which is completely inappropriate considering his rank.

"Yes, that is what is told you." Faramir confirms. He calmly looks at master Tegeldir to see what his reaction will be. He could tell before that the secretary was not happy with what he learned.

"My lord, you are aware that such a room is improper for a lord to reside in. He should be residing in the noble wing alongside all the other wounded nobility." Master Tegeldir says. To have a lord reside among peasants is a large breach of protocol. If other lords learn of this they will have a lot of problems on hand. The same counts for the warden. That is why it should be amended as soon as possible before others learn of it. Those that know about it need to be sworn to silence to avoid problems later on.

"I completely agree with you on that. I told the warden that we would discuss it and that I would inform him about our decision." Faramir says. He can see the relief on master Tegeldir's face. It makes him smile because he knows that his secretary is relieved to not have to talk to the warden.

"Of course, my lord. I will let you inform the warden. Do you possibly know if there are rooms available in the noble wing? Rooms that are appropriate for the northern steward, that is." Master Tegeldir asks carefully. He hopes his lord has the answers they need. If not then they will have to have the warden join them to find out. It will be difficult to do that discretely because they need to have one of the healers or assistant fetch the warden. How well they refrain from gossiping he does not know. Gossip is what he wants to avoid at all cost. That is why he always approaches people discretely if he needs to talk to someone.

"As far as I know there are a few appropriate rooms available. I hope we can have one of the rooms prepared by the end of today. We can have the lord moved by tomorrow then, I hope." Faramir says. He does hope it will be possible to do so as that will ensure that any possible problems are avoided. The longer they wait the more likely it is for problems to arise. And that is what they want to avoid.

"I hope so to, my lord. Hopefully, the warden can facilitate it." Master Tegeldir says. Just as he wants to say something more a knock on the door interferes. They both look at each other as they are not expecting someone to interrupt them.

"Enter." Faramir calls with a frown on his face. Then the door opens and a young maiden dressed in healers garb enters the room. They see her looking around the room shortly before turning her attention to them. This gives him the impression that she was looking for them.

"Master secretary, I have been asked by the warden to inform you that you need to leave now. Lord Faramir needs to rest." The maiden says nervously. From the way she talks if is clear to both that she does not want to be here. Furthermore, she does not want to talk to them this way. She will only be doing this because the warden asked her to do this.

"Of course, young one." Master Tegeldir says. He looks sternly at the maiden which makes her scuffle her feet nervously while bowing her head. When he turns to look at his lord he can see the amusement in his eyes which is mixed with disapproval. He flushes because he can tell that his lord is not happy with his stern handling of the maiden. Before leaving he bows and says.

"Good day, my lord."

"Good day, master Tegeldir." Faramir says and waits until his secretary has left before looking for the maiden again. He is a bit surprised to see that she is still in the room. He had thought that she would have left the room considering her earlier behavior. That she has stayed tells him that the warden has most likely told her to ensure that he rests before she can leave him to his rest.

"Young one, I would like to talk with the warden in a few hours." Faramir says with a calm face. He does this to put her at ease so as to avoid a repeat of earlier. When he sees her disapproving look he adds.

"After I have rested."

"Of course, my lord. Do you need my assistance?" The maiden asks.

"That will not be necessary. I can manage on my own. I am sure there you have more than enough work remaining." Faramir says.

"It is fine, my lord. I can assist you if you like me to." The maiden offers again.

"No, I will manage on my own. You can leave." Faramir says.

"Of course, my lord. I will inform the warden about your desire to speak with him. He will come to you so you need not go looking for him once you awaken from your rest." The maiden says. She bows once and then leaves the room.

Faramir sighs deeply. He has never liked it to have people fussing over him. The maiden’s insistence feels to him like an attempt at fussing. But as to why she would do so he does not know. She could have been instructed to assist him and with his repeated denial he gave her the opportunity to be able to leave without assistance. But she could also have had more seedy plans for him. That is something which he finds unlikely because the warden does not want such people to work for the houses. Still, that knowledge does not give assurance because during the siege the healers allowed citizens to assist them. This they did because they had too much work to do and needed all the help they could get. He tells himself that he will ask the warden about her later. That will tell him which possibility is real. He decides to rest for s few hours to make sure that the warden will cooperate with his upcoming request.

* * *

A few hours later Faramir awakes wondering what woke him. He feels a bit sleepy still after waking up suddenly. He feels quite recuperated after the good rest he enjoyed. He wipes his hand through his eyes to get the last sleep to leave him. That he still feels a bit sleepy is because something woke him suddenly from his sleep. He starts to consider what could have possibly woken him when he hears the sound of knocking on his door. He smiles because he now knows what woke him. Someone wanting to enter his room and knocking to see if he is willing to accept company.

"Come in" Faramir calls. He does not want whoever wants to meet him to leave. That is why he calls the person in while he is not yet fully awake. Hopefully, the person will not make much of a fuss about the fact that he is not fully awake. He focuses on waking. Thus does not see the warden entering the room and walking a bit up to his room.

"My lord, I am sorry to have woken you from your rest. I will come back later once you are fully rested and awake." Master Neston says and starts to walk back to the door.

"That is not necessary, master Neston. I have rested enough and do not mind that you woke me. I forgot to tell the maiden, who came earlier, that I would like to be awakened an around this time." Faramir says in an attempt to get the warden to stay. He wants to have everything sorted out as soon as possible. It will ensure that lord Halbarad will be residing in the noble wing as soon as possible. That it will also allow him to learn about the maiden is a welcome addition.

"Ahh, yes. You mean young Idris. I sent her to you to ensure that the meeting will not interfere with your recovery in case your secretary lost track of time. I allowed the meeting on the condition that it would not last longer than two hours and that you would rest afterward. Idris was to ensure that you would get the rest you need. She is young but I have full confidence in her. She is a promising apprentice. But my lord, you could have told Beregond to wake you. He has been waiting outside the room to be able to serve your needs. He has been doing so ever since you were brought to the houses." Master Neston explains. He is surprised that his lord did not notice Beregond standing outside the room. Normally lord Faramir is highly perceptive about what is going on around him. For something to have escaped his attention he must have been deeply lost in thoughts. It worries him because he does not know what could have possibly occupied his lord's minds so much.

"I have to thank you for sending Idris then. I was quite exhausted at the end of the meeting but only noticed it when I laid down to rest. I did not notice the signs my body gave to tell me that I needed to rest. As for Beregond, I did not notice him as I am sure you can tell. I have been occupied by a lot of matters and not been paying as much attention to my surroundings as normal. His presence would explain why there are always food and drinks available when I need it but have not asked for." Faramir says. He is quite glad to know that there has been someone looking after his needs when he completely forgot about it. It would have been troublesome had Beregond not seen to his needs. The warden would not have been pleased with him nor would he be as recovered as he is.

"My lord, what is it that you wanted to talk about? Idris mentioned that you wanted to talk to me." Master Neston says. He has some ideas about what it could be that his lord wants to talk about. Still, he hopes that it is not what his lord want to talk about. They already have enough to do as is. To have to ready a room for lord Halbarad and then move him would put even more strain on the healers and his staff. It would temporarily limit what care they can give to the other patients. That he wants to avoid if he is able to. Hopefully, lord Faramir will not press to have it done soon. He might rule the houses but still needs to listen to the lord of the city. Normally there is no conflict between him and the lord of the city and he wants to keep it like that.

"I want to talk with you about moving lord Halbarad to an appropriate room in the noble wing." Faramir says.

"Of course, my lord. I did check on the available rooms and there is an appropriate room available in the noble wing." Master Neston says because he actually did that. In fact, he asked one of the apprentices to check it so that he would be able to continue with his duties. That way everything on order while also having an answer should his lord ask just this question.

"That is good to know. How soon can you have the room readied?" Faramir asks. He hopes that the warden can have the room ready soon. That way any potential problems will be avoided.

"How soon do you want to have the lord Halbarad moved?" The warden asks. He wants to know what time lord Faramir had in mind. That way he will not be caught by surprise.

"I would like to have him moved either by the end of today or by tomorrow. If it is possible that is. I am aware that you are stretched to your limit with the wounded that arrived due to the siege. I would not want to have any wounded deprived of the care they need due to my request." Faramir says and can see the relief spread across the warden's face. This tells him that the warden has been worrying that he would have to deprive wounded of the necessary care to fulfill his request. That is something he does not want to do. He simply wants to have the room readied. Whether that is done by healers, cleaning staff or temporary aides he does not care so long as it is done properly.

"By the end of today will not be possible as we do not have any spare time today. But I can have the room readied by tomorrow afternoon as I can spare a few aides tomorrow. They will ready the room for the Lord Halbarad and we can move him by tomorrow evening. If that is acceptable to you that is, my lord?" Master Neston asks. He knows that it would be possible to move the lord tomorrow afternoon but that would stretch the houses too much. For then the preparations for moving and the reading of the room tomorrow morning. That is something he cannot do without depriving some patients of their care. Also, there is a possibility of being seen by people. But moving him in the evening means that there will be little people moving around which will eliminate the possibility of being seen. Something which he is sure lord Faramir will appreciate.

Also, it will allow him to ready everything for the move without a lot of strain on his staff. He will have plenty of time to have a stretcher readied. A stretcher is needed because lord Halbarad is not yet allowed to walk around then. The next day he is allowed to walk around. For the stretcher, he also needs carriers but is not sure where to find them. That is something he has to find out tomorrow as he makes the preparations. Last but not least he will have to inspect the lord's heath before moving him. He does not want to compromise his recovery.

"That is acceptable, master warden. I appreciate that you want to move him when there is little chance of it being witnessed. However, what I would like to know is if you need any aid from me?" Faramir asks. He knows that his request puts a lot of strain on the staff of the houses. More strain than they are already experiencing due to the wounded of the siege that is. Remembering this Faramir tells himself that he needs to visit the wounded as soon as he is able to do so. But as for offering his aide, it is only normal to do so because of the strain he puts on the warden and his staff.

"I do not know what aide you could give me, my lord." Master Neston says. He does not want to burden one of his patients with his problems. Especially when that patient is the lord of the city. He will figure something out himself.

"I assume you intend to move the lord Halbarad on a stretcher, master warden. Am I right?" Faramir asks.

"Yes, my lord. What do you mean to say if I may ask?" Master Neston asks confused. He suspects that his lord intends to discuss carriers with him but want to hear that from him. He does not want to draw wrong conclusions.

"You will need carriers then. I am sure that I can find a few men who will be able to carry the stretcher and be discreet about it. That is if you do not have anyone in mind already." Faramir says.

"I appreciate it if you could take care of that so long as you physically feel up to it. I do not want you to over stress yourself, my lord." Master Neston says. That will certainly make everything easier for him and his staff.

"Of course, master warden. I will discuss it with one of the captains, who is available, and he will have the carriers informed that they need to approach you to learn when you will need them." Faramir answers and already starts to make a list of potential carriers in his mind. Until he has talked to the captains who are in the city he is unable to make the decision on who will be asked. He does not know if who has survived and is in the city.

"Then I wish you a good evening, my lord." Master Neston says. He bows once and then quietly leaves the room.

Only then does Faramir notice the time and sees Beregond laying out the table with his meal.

"Thank you, Beregond, for caring for me." Faramir says once Beregond has finished laying out the table.

"It is no problem, my lord. I enjoy doing this." Beregond says and refrains from mentioning the reason for him being here and doing this. Not that he intends to deceive his lord he simply does not want to trouble his lord. Something which he is sure will happen if his lord knows the reason. This he can tell based on what he knows of his lord.

The Faramir eats his meal and spends the remainder of the evening thinking about everything that has happened since the last few days until it is time for him to turn in for the evening.


	4. Chapter 4

**March 19th**

Faramir is walking in the halls of the houses of healing contemplating how he came to walk here alone and what he still has to do this morning.

The morning started with him waking up to the sunrise. As he looked around the room he saw Beregond laying out his breakfast. Once he finished eating the warden came visiting him to inspect his wound. He knows that the warden wants to be sure that he is recovering well. After having inspected his wound and inquired about his breakfast did the warden gave him his pain medication. Of which he only drank a little bit. Faramir did not feel so much pain as to have to drink the entire cup. He also wanted to have a close head during his upcoming visit with the lord Halbarad. That the warden inquired about his breakfast is something he understands quite well. Some medicine is dangerous to take with certain food or drinks. Also, some are dangerous to take on an empty stomach.

The warden left soon after he assured him that he did not need any more pain medication. That left him alone with Beregond who assisted him in dressing. To his own irritation. What also irritated him was that Beregond wanted to accompany him to his visit with the lord Halbarad. He has to assure him that he will be fine on his own. Only then was he able to leave his room and walk towards the room where lord Halbarad resides.

Still, he is glad that all that did not take too long that he is still able to visit the lord Halbarad in the morning. He needs to talk to the steward about the approaching room change. He hopes that the steward will not protest too much about it. He wants to be on friendly terms with him and not on bad terms. Also, he hopes to learn something about lord Aragorn. That is only possible, he believes if lord Halbarad trusts him.

As he approached the room he sees a man dressed in the garb of the northern Dúnedain standing guard outside the room. He recognizes him as the man he saw leaving the room yesterday was similarly garbed. The man's presence confuses him because he is sure that yesterday there was no guard outside this room. Also, he is not sure why the guard is necessary. Does the steward fear for his safety? Another thing that confuses him is the way the guard is standing. It clearly shows that the guard is still injured and not healthy. He does not understand why a wounded man would stand guard. Does the steward expect wounded men to still fight?

All this contributes to Faramir deciding to have a few citadel guards assigned. He is sure that there are plenty of them still present in the city because they rarely leave it. Even when they leave the city then a suitable amount always remains behind to be able to protect the citadel if need be that is. That some remain is necessary because the Citadel's defense is their responsibility. That he can assign them to guard the steward is for an entirely different reason. If the guards of a nobleman are unable to protect their lord then the citadel guards can take over that duty. Only if it is necessary that is and when the steward asks them to do so. In the past, it was the king who would ask them to do so. But with the loss of the kings, the stewards took over that duty because the citadel guard became their guard.

When Faramir approaches the door he nods once to the guard. He is surprised when the guard simply nods back but refrains from doing anything more than look him in the face. He does not look him over, question him as to his reasons for being here nor follow him inside. Something which the citadel guards would always do just as often as any other Gondorian guard.

As he enters the room he can see the man from yesterday is present. He is dressed in the same clothing as yesterday and sits on a chair next to the steward's bed. The steward lies on the bed and is dressed in a linen shirt and white trousers. A blanket lies near his feet on the bed. Both are looking attentively at the door and thus at him when he enters. Faramir smiles amused because it clearly shows that the guard was not acting irresponsibly as he thought he was nor would he be able to surprise the room's occupants. He is sure that should anyone come into the room with evil intentions then he would have been overpowered by the man from yesterday. The fact that both have their hands on knives increases his belief. What he does not understand is how they managed to get the knives inside the houses of healing.  Weapons add among the things prohibited.

"Good morning, my lord Halbarad. Would it be possible for us to talk for a while?" Faramir asks. He does not ask for the other man to leave as he does not intend to discuss sensitive matters. The look he received from the steward is one of surprise. He does not know what surprises the steward. That he knows his name or that he knows he is a lord. Or that he did not expect to be addressed as such.

"That would be possible. Aphadon would you leave us. You can go stand watch outside if you feel the need to do so." Halbarad says.

"Yes, my lord." Aphadon says. He stands up and quietly leaves the room. That he addressed his friend by title and not name is because of the presence of the Gondorian. The Gondorian addressed his friend as lord and thus he is unable to call him by his name. He needed to address him by title if he wants to avoid questions being raised. His rank as a peasant also contributes to the need. A peasant is not to address a lord by name. So much he has learned since coming g to the south. Once he is outside the room he decides to stand watch outside. Aphadon wants to know what it is that the Gondorian wants to talk about. By standing watch he ensures that he can talk to his friend once the Gondorian leaves.

"As you seem to know my name might I asks you to give me yours?" Halbarad asks once his friend has left the room and shut the door after himself. Hopefully, the name will tell him who this man is. That would also answer the question as to why he called him a lord. Normally, he is only called thus on formal occasions as everyone knows that he prefers to be called by his name.

At the same time, Halbarad carefully looks the man over. The man is a warrior based by his built and has the looks of a Númenorian. Something which he knows from Aragorn is rare outside of the noble houses. This has him take a closer look at the man to see if he carries himself as some of the noblemen he has seen before. He does carry himself as a nobleman but still gives off an approachable feel. This eases his mind because he can tell that the man is not arrogant. He never liked it to interact with arrogant men.

"How are you recovering, my lord?" Faramir asks as he sits down on the chair the northern Dúnedain occupied earlier. He can tell that he pulls the steward out of his thoughts. It also did not escape him that the lord looked him over twice. One time more closely than the other. The steward did this most likely to learn about him. A behavior which he can totally understand and is quite familiar with. He does so always when meeting new people. It tells him what he can expect from the other in the future.

"As well as can be. I was told that I need to stay in the bed until tomorrow. Afterward, I can move around once more. Something which I look forward to." Halbarad answers with a smile. He gets a sympathetic smile from the other person. He knows that his answer was more polite than is normal for him. That is because he does not know what this young lord is able to accept concerning behavior. Aragorn told him in the past his lords have reacted to certain behavior. Looking at the young lord reminds him that he needs to find out who Faramir is. Aragorn asked him to look after the young steward and he intends to not fail him.

"That is good to hear, my lord. My name is Faramir. I do not know if you are aware that I am the steward of Gondor." Faramir says. He did tell him that he is also a steward to see what his reaction will be. If he will acknowledge it or not. It will tell him how much he places on titles.

"Aragorn told me that you became the steward on your father's death. As such I want to inform you that I feel sorry for your loss." Halbarad says sympathetically. He is relieved to learn that this man is the one he has been asked to look after. It saves him a lot of time. Time he would have spent on finding this young man.

"Thank you, my lord." Faramir says. He is unsure how to feel about the condolence. His relationship with his father has been stressful for the last few years when the shadow grew. Stressful because at one time he would be caring and the other he would be entirely cold to him. It was impossible for him to predict how his father would act. Still, he loved his father deeply and misses him. Those confusing feelings make it so that he does not know how to handle the condolences. Not that he would show his grief as it is not done for nobility to show their grief in public or among each other. The only exception is when one is with close family.

It surprises him is to hear that the steward addresses his lord by name. Doing such a thing would be unthinkable for him and every other noble in Gondor. This gives him the impression that in the north young noblemen might address their father as father and not by their title. For him to address his father as father would mean a berating from his nurse and trainer when he was younger and his father when he was older. Still, until he knows more nobles he does not know if it is common. It might be that the steward addresses his lord by name because of their close friendship.

"Might I ask you how many Dúnedain from the north are in the houses?" Faramir asks after a short silence. He wants to know how many there are so that he knows if they need their own rooms after leaving the houses. Or if they can be housed together with some Gondorians.

"As far as I know there are three Dúnedain who accompanied me from Arnor present. They were too wounded to be able to accompany the host even though they would have wanted to." Halbarad explains. This he knows because Aphadon subtly had been hinting at this. He pities Aragorn because he knows how much trouble it would have been for him to have those men stay behind in Minas Tirith. After the steward nods the room falls silent for a short while before he asks.

"That is not why you sought me out, is it?"

"No, it is not. There is a matter about which I need to inform you. But before I do that I would like to know why you came to Gondor's aide. Not that I am not grateful for it but I imagine that your presence would be needed in the north. You hold rule there in your lord's absence. How is it that you could leave and who has been left in charge? If I might ask that is." Faramir says. These are matters which he has been thinking about ever since learning that lord Halbarad is the steward of Arnor. For the steward of Gondor to leave Gondor at the same time as its king would be unheard of. The only exception would be war times but then a trusted lord would be given rule until the return of either the king or the steward. Or more commonly the steward would hold command over troops inside the borders. At least that is how it was done when Gondor still had a king. As for informing the steward about the upcoming room change that he intends to do as late as possible. The reason for that is that it will claim the steward's entire attention and his questions will not be answered.

"The only rule I hold there, in Aragorn's absence, is small. I inspect our villages and make sure that they have everything they need to survive. We have but a handful of cities which are ruled by its lord. Our villages are led by a village elder who has been appointed by the chieftain. I have little to do with those cities because I only need to read the messages they send me. Of those, I make a summary of the most important matters which I need to inform Aragorn about. I also deal with those matters which need my immediate attention and inform Aragorn about what I did when we meet again. Another thing I do is making sure that our patrols are well organized. As I have not too much work to do it is not a problem for both Aragorn and me to leave for a few months. Hence, why I could leave at the same time as Aragorn. The lords and village elders are more than capable of handling everything that could possibly happen." Halbarad explains. He can see that his words confuse the young lord which does not surprised at all. For in Gondor the nobility holds the authority over lands and not a city and the surrounding areas. The lords have more power here than they do at home. Also, in Arnor the documentation is not done as extensively as here. In fact, the few matters are documented are of the utmost importance. Such as village and city locations. As well as their holdings. Everything else lore keepers remember and pass on to their successor.

"I am surprised by that, my lord. Are there not many people in the north?" Faramir asks surprised. He has always imagined that the north is similarly populated than Gondor. It surprised him to hear that it might not be. That there might not be many people left in the north. It would explain why there are so little cities in the north. Cities are closed when there are too few people left to maintain and defend it. The same counts for villages. Something which he luckily rarely was present for nor learned about. Such a thing is rare in Gondor. All this tells him that it is, even more, to be rewarded that so many came to Gondor's aide. They would have been needed in the north.

"Not that many Dúnedain that we can afford to maintain more cites than we do now. There are plenty of men left in the north but not that many Dúnedain. And those men distrust us greatly. That makes it often difficult to arrange things. Such as buying supplies as they commonly try to get us to pay more than everyone else. Those things are always arraigned by Aragorn or I for we know their tricks and are able to get the lowest price possible. Still, besides all their distrust we do all we can to protect them." Halbarad explains. It shows that the men of Gondor know very little of them. Which does not surprise him at all as there is barely any communication between the two realms since the death of Arvedui.

"Can't the lords do that on their own or the village elders? Why would lord Aragorn or you be needed to arrange for supplies?" Faramir asks surprised. He finds the behavior of these men strange. Who would ask different prices from customers based on their origin? Doing that would damage their business for people would avoid it. When a trader has everyone pay the same price they gain more customer than when they do not do that. Besides, the lords of Arnor can surely learn how to handle these traders from lord Aragorn and the steward. It does not explain why lord Aragorn would have to do that.

"Well, truthfully Aragorn likes doing that as it allows him to learn how the people think about the Dúnedain. A habit I gained from him. It should be noted that it has helped us countless times when we faced trouble." Halbarad says with a wry smile. He remembers the first time Aragorn tried to buy something. It surprised him then how quickly he saw through the tricks of the trader. He manages to get the price down to normal levels in a short time. Something which he knows his father always had trouble with. It took his father quite some time to do what Aragorn did so quickly. His father also nearly always had to pay more than what it was worth though not as much as was asked in the beginning. It took himself years to learn how to get the price back to a normal level. Even now it takes him more time than it does Aragorn.

"Might I ask what kind of man lord Aragorn is?" Faramir asks carefully. From what lord Halbarad just said he can tell that lord Aragorn is a hands-on lord. It also piped his interest in the lord's character as he deems it alright to ask Lord Halbarad about it. The lord has been free in his description. More so than he is used to considering that he is speaking truthfully.

"Of course you may ask that, lord Faramir. Aragorn is a kind man though he is often grim and sad. There are moments when he is levity about matters. Something which I hope to see that more off in the future. Even though I have serious doubts about that. Also, he is one the wisest men I know. I believe partly because he was raised in Imladris. One thing I know for certain is that he recognizes people's worth and makes use of it. Talented people he always keeps close so that he can ensure that they can reach their full potential. And he acknowledges good service by rewarding it." Halbarad says thoughtfully. He knows that there is more to Aragorn's character but kept it to the most important aspects. Should he describe Aragorn's character in detail then they will not be done before late tonight. That he wants to avoid because he feels that they both will need all the rest they can find.

"I see, lord. It will be good to know that our future king is a kind man." Faramir says thoughtfully. He has a feeling that he only heard the most important aspects of lord Aragorn' s character. Which does not surprise him. Describing a person's character is an intricate matter and not something to be rushed. Still, he is relieved to know that Lord Aragorn's character indicates that he could become a great king. Possibly one of the greatest Gondor has had since its founding. But then it does not mean that he will be able to maintain his position as steward. Another man might still be appointed as steward of Gondor.

"Would you be willing to explain your reason for this visit now?" Halbarad asks once he notices that Faramir's attention is diverted. He hopes that now that his attention is diverted that it will be easier to move him to explain his reason for this visit. That way he will not have to wait too long for it. Not that he minds their subject of conversation. He simply wants to know why Faramir came.


	5. Chapter 5

"I came to inform you that we found a more appropriate room for you. You will be moved there this afternoon once the warden has prepared everything necessary." Faramir explains a bit distracted. Not long afterward he feels shocked that he let the steward divert their conversation. He believed that he was still attentive to their conversation. That he was thinking that deeply about the character of lord Aragorn he was not aware of. This matter he wanted to discuss after he has the opportunity to ask a few questions. With those questions, he wanted to sort out some matters which he did not understand fully when he was told them.

The way Halbarad receives his explanation tells him that Faramir is considering a matter deeply. Faramir was not really paying attention to his answer when he gave it. As such it would not surprise him if Faramir is not fully aware of what he told him. The look that appears on his face confirms his belief. It gives him the impression that Faramir does not want to talk about it right now. As such he is happy that he asked this question. Now it cannot be changed until it is sufficiently discussed.

"Why? This room has all I could need. I am not allowed to leave the bed. So I have little need for more than a bed, a bed stand, and one or two chairs." Halbarad says stupefied after both are done with their thinking. What use does he have for a larger room with more furniture? At least he assumes that is what he believes the room to be. In his opinion, such a room would be better used for housing wounded. Not for him to reside in on his own. A group of wounded would be able to rest their relatively in peace in comparison to where they now rest. Halbarad knows that he would most likely get bored in such a room when he has little to do. As is the case with residing in a personal room.

"That is true, lord. But it should be considered that when the lords of Gondor learn that you are housed here there will be a massive outcry from them. That outcry will, unfortunately, be directed toward the warden and me. Either publicly or silently. They will see it as a possibility that they will be housed among the peasants. Something which disgusts quite a few of them deeply, I am afraid to admit. By having you moved to a room in the noble wing silently the outcry will be avoided. Or at least limited. Also, such a room tells everyone that you have a high position in the north. Once they learn that you are the steward of Arnor they will not be surprised by where you reside. Should you stay here then they will not take you seriously at all. Potentially they will even question if you are truly the steward of Arnor." Faramir explains.

Faramir tried to be as thorough as possible in his argumentation so that he convinces lord Halbarad of the necessity of him changing rooms. If lord Halbarad continues to refuse then he does not want to know what the consequences will be. Everything the warden has done will then be for naught. He wants to avoid both for as far as it is possible for him to do so. Concerning the matter of their topic of conversation, he knows that he cannot change it now. Even if he would like to. He will have to do with what he has learned. Hopefully, in the coming days, he will be able to learn more about lord Aragorn. If they manage to live that long that is.

"Then I will have to accept, lord Faramir. There is nothing I can bring against your argumentation. In fact, I can understand your reasoning." Halbarad says. That he understands Faramir's argumentation comes from what Aragorn explained to him about Gondor's nobility. It completely corresponds to each other.

"Thank you for your understanding, my lord." Faramir says. He is grateful that he does not have to explain everything even further. Or give more arguments. He does not know what else he could say that might convince lord Halbarad.

"If you will excuse me. I will leave you to your rest, my lord." Faramir says. He bows and then quietly leaves the room. There is no reason for him to remain as they have nothing further to talk about. Asking after lord Aragorn now would be rude, Faramir believes. Even though lord Halbarad did not make a problem of it.

Once Faramir has left Halbarad lies back on his bed and places his arm over his head. That way he starts to consider everything he learned so far. About the young steward, Gondor and how people will look at him. Not everything was addressed directly but still, he manages to catch glimpses of it. As he is doing this he hears the door being opened again. This makes him wonder who would need to talk to him. When he sees Aphadon coming into his room he has to shake his head and says.

"I should have known. Of course, you will come to me now that my visitor has left. You want to know what we talked out, do you not?"

"Of course, I do. This way we can discuss what you just learned together." Aphadon says. This way he ensures that his friend will not be brooding over what he learned. If he has a reason for doing that, that is. Also, just as Halbarad said he wants to know what was discussed. Still, he is aware that he might not learn everything. Nevertheless, he wants to learn whatever he can.

"Well, what did you talk about?" Aphadon asks. He does not have to wait long before Halbarad starts to explain to him what was being discussed. Aphadon is not surprised to learn that the man asked about the Halbarad's health. A bit surprised he is by the question about the number of Dúnedain are here in the houses of healing. He is surprised to learn that Halbarad's visitor is lord Faramir, the steward of Gondor. It surprises him because he did not have the same air about him as the Gondorian lord's he has met or seen. It amuses him to learn that they talked about their chieftain's character. He would have expected that lord Faramir would want to learn Aragorn's character on his own through observation and interactions. At least that is how it is done in the north for as far as he knows. When Halbarad talks about the impending room change Aphadon has to laugh much to the chagrin of Halbarad.

"What do you have to laugh about?"

"Your expression, Halbarad. It shows clearly how you think about it. Besides, it makes it clear that you have not been around many people who noble men differently than we do in the villages." Aphadon says.

"Why, have you experience with it. I did not know that you have traveled so much." Halbarad says in mocking shock. He knows that Aphadon has only ever once left Arnor. That is when they came on the Aragorn's aide in the last few days. By giving this reaction he hopes to get the answers he wants. Such as were Aphadon got this belief. It is not that he does not how nobility is treated in places like Gondor. Aragorn has explained that to him extensively when he came back home from his traveling. That he reacts the way he does is because he has never liked to use his rank to get things.

"You know how much I have traveled. I have never been outside of Arnor before. But as for my experience that came from what is saw of the treatment of the nobles in the city. Both during the battle, afterward and here in the houses." Aphadon explains. Initially, he reacted a bit offended but knows that Halbarad will not be offended by it. He knows that he meant it playfully as Halbarad did with his mocking shock.

"Well, that explains that." Halbarad concludes. He has not paid too much attention to the nobles as when he came into the city he was more occupied with his wound and pain.

"Halbarad, would you be willing to tell me what is bothering you?" Aphadon asks. If he knows what is bothering Halbarad then might be able to help him.

"What is bothering me are two things. Firstly why I was given this room, to begin with. Secondly why I was not consulted about the room change." Halbarad says. These questions address the root of what is bothering him.

"Who assigned you this room?" Aphadon asks. He refrains from addressing the reaction from Gondorian nobles as that can be discussed later. Form what he has seen of them he has an idea about their reaction. That corresponds with what Halbarad said that Faramir told him. But right now he wants to help Halbarad with his questions. The person who assigned him this room would be a good starting point for answering the first question.

"From what I know Aragorn asked the warden to assign me a room." Halbarad says thoughtfully. He has not considered yet what Aragorn could have told the warden but now he does. Could it be that Aragorn, in deference to his dislike of using his rank to gain things, asked the warden to treat him as a normal captain? Or did he only ask for a room but did not give any instructions about what kind of room he should have.

"So it was the warden who assigned you this room. Now the question is: did the warden know that you are a nobleman and steward of Arnor when he gave you assigned you this room or not?" Aphadon wonders. That question will tell them the reason for receiving this room. That it might help wot the second question is a welcome additional knows both will appreciate.

"I do not know. Wait, he does know I am a lord. He called me that when he checked my wounds. But I do not know what Aragorn told him when asking for a room for me. Has he asked the warden to treat me like as a captain would be treated or did he simply ask for a room bit did not any about the room? With the second option, it could be that the warden gave me the first room he knew was available because of all the stress he had endured in the previous days. Something which is true from what I saw when I was brought here." Halbarad considers. As he mentions the time he was brought in he can remember the hustle he could see in here. It showed clearly that they were stressed beyond their capacity. What he admires in them is that they could still do their work excellent besides the stress they experienced.

"The second option I do not believe to be true, Halbarad. A man of the warden's position would know full well how nobility would need to threated. He would not make such a mistake. So I do not believe that he would give you an inappropriate room because of stress." Aphadon says thoughtfully.

"I agree with you on that." Halbarad says.

"But that would mean that the first option is true. Knowing our chieftain I can totally imagine that he would do such a thing. You two know each other intimately and as such would know what one would appreciate." Aphadon says. He knows that Halbarad and Aragorn know each other intimately as he has seen how they can communicate with each other simply by body language and looks. Of that, he is a bit jealous but knows there is nothing he can do about it. He is not so close to lord Aragorn as he is with Halbarad. In fact, he feels uncomfortable getting so close to their chieftain. Not that said chieftain would mind.

"That is true. He knows that I would appreciate a room such as this one. I imagine that he has not thought how the lords would react to it. Most likely because of his exhaustion which we all could see during our trip on the boat. Also, I know that he has taken nearly all lords with him. That means that they will not be able to learn about it. The only lords left behind are those who are either injured or elderly. I cannot imagine when they would be able to learn about me having this room. Not when they would have the opportunity to give the warden troubles with it." Halbarad says. He imagines that the injured lords would mostly be occupied with recovering from their wounds. That means that they will not have time to give the warden trouble. The elderly lords he imagines will not spend much time here. Unless of course, they intend to visit their injured family member. Then they would only be in the noble wing. Or they will be working around the city doing the work that others would normally do. So he does not know they might be able to learn about it then.

"Well, you must be really important for injured lords to be interested in you. So much that they want to learn where you are residing and troubling the warden about inappropriate housing. Imagine what Annel will say about all that." Aphadon says amused. He struggles to contain his laughter so much that it hurts. It amuses him how much Halbarad continues to fight his impending doom change. Even though he will not be able to avoid it.

"It is not funny." Halbarad says with a scowl. He takes a deep breath to control his irritation before saying.

"I understand what amuses you so, Aphadon. My continued resistance to the room change. But would you mind leaving me alone for a bit so that I can eat and rest before I am moved? Your presence does not help me to find rest at all."

"Of course, Mellon. I will leave you to your rest." Aphadon says sadly and leaves the room. By his way of reacting he wanted to tell Halbarad how he felt about what he said.

After he leaves Halbarad sighs and lies down for a short while. Only so long as it takes for dinner to be brought. That time he spends on calming himself down. He pities Aragorn for having to go through the same as he has for years. Whenever they were on a patrol together.

A few minutes later his dinner arrives which he eats with great appetite. He feels starved. Once he has finished eating he decides to take some rest until it is time for him to be brought to his new room.


	6. Chapter 6

A few hours after Faramir left lord Halbarad's room, he sits in his own room in anticipation of the upcoming meeting. This meeting will be one with the remaining captains to see to the cities defense. He knows that he needs to rest but feels unable to until he is certain that the city is well defended. He believes that setting up the cities defense is something he needs to oversee himself. It is a task lord Húrin cannot handle for he has little experience in setting up a defense. Less than he has actually. That is the reason why he had master Tegeldir arrange this meeting. Everything else he is confident that lord Húrin can manage on his own or with the aid of his father's staff. To be able to hold this meeting he had additional chairs brought in so that everyone who wants to can sit down.

Just then the door opens and the captains enter his room. He knows nearly all of them as he has either worked with them or talked to them before. It helps that Boromir has talked with him about all the captains he knew. That way he knows what he can expect from them and what kind of men they are.

There is only one he does not know at all. The man is clearly from Rohan based on his appearance and clothing. As such Faramir is certain that this must be marshal Elfhelm. The man his uncle left in char he is the cities defense. He is confident that the king of Rohan approved of this assignment. Marshal Elfhelm is one of his men after all.

As Faramir looks around the room he can see that the captains all sit down on one of the chairs. It amuses him to see how quickly they make themselves at ease in his presence. It shows how free they feel when they are with him. Except for marshal Elfhelm that is. He keeps standing by the table. His posture clearly states that he is uncomfortable with this situation. He wants to have finished this meeting as soon as possible so that he can get back to what he was doing. Or at least that is the impression Faramir gets of him. What has caused this Faramir does not know but would like to. That way he can avoid it in the future.

"Marshal Elfhelm, I presume?" Faramir asks.

"Yes, lord Faramir." Elfhelm says patiently with a bid of his head.

"I see you know my name. As such I do not believe I need to introduce myself or do I. But please, sits down." Faramir says while mentioning with his hand to the remaining free chair. The movement he makes is one of mentioned downwards. With this, he attempts to underline his words.

"Thank you, lord. You are correct to assume that I know your name and that you do not need to introduce yourself. Your captains were more than happy to tell me all about you." Elfhelm says as he sits down.

When marshal Elhelm mentions the captains he looks at those in the room. This tells Faramir that he means they were talking about him.

"I am not sure how to think about your eagerness to talk about me." Faramir says with a blank face. He only does so as he wants to tell the captains that he does not want a repeat of this. Even though he is highly amused by it.

"We never spoke badly about you, captain. I mean, my lord steward. We only wanted the marshal to know what kind of lord you are. We did so we learned that we were summoned to this meeting. And learned that the marshal would also be present." One of the captains says defensively.

This reaction shows that the captain felt a need to defend themselves. Most likely as he felt that they were being reprimanded. Faramir frowns in an attempt to get more answers out of the captains but is interrupted by marshal Elfhelm when he speaks up.

"He speaks the truth, lord steward."

"That is reassuring, marshal. But let us start with the reason why I called you all here. I would like to know what has been done to protect the city from a possible attack." Faramir asks. It does not take the captains long to unfold the maps that lie on the table. They quickly start to tell him what they have done so far. Marshal Elfhelm adds his own voice to it whenever he can. It is clear that the captains are taking responsibility for the defense. Even though the marshal is in charge. When Faramir looks at him it is clear that the marshal does not like this at all.

When Faramir considers everything he has been told it is clear that the marshal works closely with the captains to plan the city's defense. At least what has been planned so far. The marshal does this most likely for the captains know the layout of the city. Something which the marshal does not know at all and the captains know what strategic places are in the city. This behavior speaks highly for the marshal.

Five minutes later, the captains finish with their explanations and look at him to see what he thinks. It does not take a lot of consideration for him to give them an answer.

"From what I have heard so far you have planned Minas Tirith's defense well. Marshal Elfhelm, have the captains mentioned everything that has been planned so far?" Faramir asks. He asked this question as he wants to know if what has been said is true with what he has planned. In fact, he has gotten the impression that not everything has been said about the setup defenses.

"The captains focused on how the men are stationed inside the city. They did not mention what has been done to protect the city from outside the walls. There I have my men patrolling the river and border areas. I gave them these orders for we cannot let the host be attacked from behind by forces crossing the Anduin. As well as attacks from the border on the city." Marshal Elfhelm explains.

As he speaks he points at the places of the map where the patrols move. Faramir can tell that they are all positioned strategically so that they can aid each other during incursions. Also, he gets the impression that those groups patrolling near Rohan's border are actually patrolling both sides of the border. He lets everything sink in for a short moment before he says.

"Good, you have it all nearly fully set up. Let us now finish the city's defense so that everyone can go back to doing what you need to do."

"Of course, my lord steward." The captains and marshal Elfhelm say. So for the next twenty minutes, they work on finalizing Minas Tirith's defenses. No one wants to leave anything to chance for they do not have any men to spare. Loosing but one would mean that defending the city will be difficult if not impossible.

* * *

"Now that we have the defenses securely planned I need all of you to ensure that they are executed." Faramir says once their planning has finished. He looks expectedly at the captains to make it is clear that that is what they need to do first. At the same time, he can tell that they all deem this meeting finished. Which is not the case. He appreciates that they are not leaving. It shows how well they know that a meeting is never ended until the commander in charge says so. Thus Faramir has time to consider how best to formalize his request. It takes him a few minutes to work it out. During that time the other men time consider how best to execute their lord's orders. Or in one case the lord steward's order. That Faramir can tell as he looks at them just before he intends to address his request.

"I recently learned that the steward of Arnor has been injured during the battle and thus resides in the houses. As he was given an inappropriate room it means that he will be moved to an appropriate room soon. For that reason, the warden will need strong carriers. Captain Mornen, I would like for you to have some of your men reports to the warden by midday so that they might learn when their service will be required." Faramir says while looking captain Mornen in the eye.

"Of course, my lord. Do you mean for them to be sent to the warden." Captain Mornen says.

"Yes, I mean them." Faramir answers. He knows full well who the captain meant with his words. He and captain Mornen have known each other since they both were being trained. Also, they kept in touch with each other. As such, they can tell who the other means even though he does not say a name.

"Of course, my lord. I will have them report to the warden as soon as our meeting has ended." Captain Mornen says dutifully.

"Good for there is one more thing I need to inform you about. When I went to meet the steward of Arnor yesterday I saw a guard standing near his door. The guard was one of the Dúnedain who was still recovering from his own wounds. He wore a bandage around his head. As such I would like for the citadel guards to take over this duty. It will not do to have injured people standing guard duty when there will be enough guards around to take over that duty." Faramir says while looking a guard in the eye.

"Are you sure that it will be accepted, my lord?" The captain is the citadel guards asks.

Form his looks it is clear that he has his doubt about guard's existence. It also gives the impression that he is not at all pleased by this request. It is not at all difficult for him to imagine a possible reason. Most likely the captain wants to refrain from unnecessary work which the guard duty would be where it to be refused.

"I am nearly fully certain that it will be accepted. The steward will not mind the guard much if he had one before. Nor do I expect him to be difficult based on our previous conversations." Faramir says.

"Then I will start looking for guards who are available." The captain says.

If Faramir is right then the captain is considering everyone under his comment the moment he finished his sentence. All to see who would be good choices for the duty that his lords want to see done. It amuses Faramir how quickly the captain is willing to follow his orders while before he did not even want to hear a suggestion from him.

"That is good to hear. I will expect them at your earliest convenience. Preferably already this evening." Faramir says.

He can see the stress appearing in the captain's eyes. This causes him to pity the captain a bit. Now he has to appoint the guards as well change the duty roster. The last one is a task that will take plenty of time. That Faramir knows from how own experience. As such he also knows how bothersome it can be. Still, now there is no other option this needs to be done.

"Of course, my lord. I will have a guard available this evening." The captain says with stress audible in his voice.

"Thank you, captain, I appreciate it and am confident that you can manage the tasks set before you." Faramir says in an attempt to calm the captain's stress levels. From what he can see his words have some effect though not enough for all the stress to disappear. Still, it assures him that the captain will be able to make a rational decision about the guards and roster changes. It is then that he looks around the room at the other occupants and says.

"If no one has anything they would like to add or discuss then this meeting is ended. You are all dismissed."

The captains and marshal Elfhelm stand up and bow. Shortly thereafter they have all left the room and Faramir is left alone. Now that Faramir is alone he can feel his exhaustion. Knowing that he will not get anything done in such an exhausted state he decided to lie down for a bit and rest. But just before he wants to lie down the door opens and Beregond enters the room with a tray in his hand.

"My lord? Do I need to call a healer?" Beregond asks with a worried voice.

"No, Beregond, that is not necessary. I am simply exhausted and need to rest for a bit. I assume that you want to clean up the table." Faramir says. Of that, he is nearly certain for there is little need for a tray if not to clean up the table now that the meeting has finished. A task which he imagined that a maid of the houses would conduct and not a soldier.

"Yes, my lord, I would like to do that. But if you need to lie down then I will do it later." Beregond offers.

"I appreciate your offer, Beregond, but that is not necessary. You can clean the table while I rest so long as you are silent." Faramir tells him. Well, actually Faramir has no worries that Beregond will not be silent when cleaning the table considering that he never noticed him before when he was doing something in the room while he was present.

"I will do so, my lord." Beregond answers.

"You do know that you can call me by my name, Beregond. Do you not?" Faramir asks. He noticed before that Beregond called him lord but does not know why. Hopefully, by asking this question, he will be able to learn why Beregond calls him thusly.

"I do, my lord. I mean Faramir. It is just before you were the captain of the Ithilien rangers and a warrior like me. Now you are the steward of Gondor and higher in rank than I will ever be. I did not want to cause offense thus deemed it better to address you as lord and not by your name." Beregond explains.

"I assure you, Beregond, you will not cause offense by addressing me by my name. But let us not delay each other. I will lie down to rest while you can begin with cleaning." Faramir says. He is relieved that it is because Beregond was careful in addressing him. Not that he is afraid of him now that he is no longer a captain. This tells him that it is likely that others who he interacted with will also be doing the same as Beregond did just now. Hopefully, it will not be too many.

"Of course, Faramir." Beregond says with a smile on his face.

"Oh, and Beregond, thank you for doing this for me. I do not know what I did to gain this. Will you wake me for supper?" Faramir says with a sleepy voice as he lies down on the bed. He falls asleep so quickly that Beregond is unable to answer him.

* * *

A few hours later, Faramir is still sleeping while the staff of the houses is busy preparing everything to move the steward of Arnor in a few hours’ time. These preparations exist, among others, out of two of the four carriers preparing the stretcher while the others two gather everything else needed to make the trip as comfortable as possible for the steward. Among them are cushions and blankets. The men do this for they do not want to take any chances with the steward's health. The warden pressed on them that the move should be as smooth as possible. If not then the steward might suffer a relapse in his recovery. As that is something which they do not want to happen they will do what they can to make it all go as smooth as possible.

While the carriers are busy with the stretcher a servant of the houses is preparing the chest which will hold the possessions of the steward for the duration of the move. Thus she is cleaning it from the inside as well as the outside. Chests typically get dusty as well as covered in spider webs for they rarely have a need to use them. Luckily it is not a big chest so she has it cleaned in no time.

During all that two women of the cleaning staff are finishing cleaning the steward's future room. Luckily, the room has been cleaned around a week before when all the unoccupied rooms were cleaned. This means that the room is still relatively clean and only needs around ten minutes of cleaning before the bed can be made. Twenty minutes after the woman started they leave the room, which is now fully prepared for its future occupant, to continue their regular cleaning duties.

When everything is prepared the warden makes a last check on the room as well as the prepared stretcher. For all who know about the impending move, it is clear that he wants to leave nothing to chance. Which is especially important considering that it concerns the cousin of their future king. As well as the steward of Arnor. A concept the warden is sure of that some nobles need to get used to. They have long thought that there were no descendants of nobility left in the north.

Once he is satisfied that everything is prepared according to his standards does he visit Lord Halbarad to see how his wound is healing. He is pleasantly surprised, when he checks the wound, to see that the wound is nearly fully healed. It will mean that his initial perception is correct and lord Halbarad can start to move around tomorrow. If he takes it easy that is. If not, then it will not take a long time before lord Halbarad will be confined to his bed once more.

* * *

A few hours later, Halbarad is waiting for whoever will bring him to his new room when Aphadon enters his room with a barely notable grin on his face. He would not have noticed it were it for how well he knows his friend. Seeing this Halbarad frowns at his friends. It, in turn, has him receiving an even wider grin. Amusement is clearly visible in Aphadon's eyes. It irritates him deeply for he is nearly certain about the reason Aphadon is here.

"What did you really think I would not be present when you change from room?" Aphadon asks.

"I had hoped so. But I guess it was not meant to be. Besides sending you away now will do no good. You will sneak after us. It is best to know where you are than it is not to know." Halbarad says with a resigned voice. Aphadon's words just confirmed his belief. He wants to be around to see where his new room will be and what if will look like. He does that to tease him about it later.

"You wound me, Halbarad. You wound me. I thought you liked having me around." Aphadon says in a mockingly hurt voice. As he says the last part he looks at Halbarad with sad eyes.

"Normally yes, but not right now. Let us hope that you know how you are expected to behave. And that you do behave. Right now you act like a small child." Halbarad says to his friend. He knows that Aphadon is messing with him. Or at least attempting to do so. Instead of berating Aphadon Halbarad simply meets him equally. He does that by implying that Aphadon will not behave when he is moved to his new room. That Halbarad tells him that he acts like a child is to remind him how is actually behaving right now. It serves as a reminder for him to behave like an adult.

"Of course I shall behave, my lord. I am an adult and not a child so I will behave in a mature way. But might it be acceptable for you to discuss the possibilities of your future residence?" Aphadon says in a serious voice and twinkling eyes.

"That is reassuring. It is acceptable for me to discuss my potential future residence." Halbarad says in an equally serious voice. So they begin to discuss in which area of the houses his new room will be. As well as considering what kind of room he will actually get.

Thirty minutes later steward Faramir and the warden enter his room. They are accompanied by four men carrying a stretcher. When Halbarad sees the stretcher he is barely able to contain a groan. He does not want to be carried on a stretcher. It always makes him feel like he is severely injured or a cripple. Something which he does not feel like now. Aphadon he imagines is struggling to hide his amusement which Halbarad confirms by looking Aphadon in his eyes.

"My lord, allow us to aid you on the stretcher. I am aware that you are almost allowed to walk again. Right now you should not be walking yet as I am sure you are aware of. Especially the distance we have to cover." Master Neston says. Part of what he said is to pacify lord Halbarad. He has gotten the impression that the lord does not want to be coddled. From his experience with warriors, he knows that being carried on a stretcher is seen as a sign of weakness by all but the most injured or as coddling. Something which they absolutely despise. Or at least most of them.

"I am aware of that. As for being carried I assume that I have no choice in that matter." Halbarad says with a resigned voice.

"Unfortunately not, lord Halbarad." Master Neston says while helping the lord from his bed onto the stretcher with the aid of one of the carriers.

During that Halbarad is silent and corporative. He knows that protesting is if no use. It will only prolong everything. Another reason for his absence of struggling is that he wants to be done with it as soon as possible. Once he is comfortable on the stretcher they leave his current room. During the time they go through the hallways, they see little to no people. Something which surprises Halbarad for he thought that there would be more people about. He finds if strange that there are but few people about. It does not mean that he will not complain about. No not at all for it ensures that few people see that he is moved to another room with a stretcher. It makes him consider the possibility that this time was carefully chosen to move him to minimize the number of people witnessing this. What does irk him is the number of people it takes to move him. The two carriers and the warden he can understand. But not the presence of lord Faramir. He does not know what is so important about this that he needs to be personally present for it. Hopefully, he will be able to uncover it before lord Faramir leaves.

Five minutes later they enter the noble wing of the houses where they soon reach his new room. As the group enters it Halbarad can see that it is a spacious room. More spacious than his previous room for as far as he can see from his stretcher that is. The carriers place the stretcher next to the bed before aiding him on it. Only then is he able to take a closer look around the room. Besides his bed, there is a table with chairs between his bed and a closet. There is also a dresser as well as a small bookcase on the wall the door is in. The wall where the head of his bed stands against contains a window with drapes. Looking back at the table he can see a vase standing on top it. Most likely to lift his spirit, Halbarad assumes. Also, the window has two vases on it. All this surprises him immensely. He had assumed that he would get a room with more space but with the same amount of furniture. But to get more furniture. Halbarad would like to shake his head but as it could be considered rude he refrains from doing so. At the same time be wonders what he needs all this for and is unable to figure it out.

"Well, lord Halbarad, I am jealous about you getting this room. I would have liked to have such a room." Aphadon says while pouting.

"Can you never behave like an adult, Aphadon!" Halbarad says annoyed while lifting himself up a bit. He had so hoped that Aphadon would behave and not act like they would when they were among themselves. He knows the other Dúnedain are used to such behavior from Aphadon. They will simply shake their heads and continue on with what they were doing before. The Gondorians are not used to it as he expected. This he bases on the way they all are currently looking at Aphadon. Most look mortified while Halbarad is sure that that the steward is actually amused. If he reads his expression correctly that is. There is actually a twinkle in lord Faramir's eyes. So he is nearly certain that Aphadon's words amuse him.

"Lord Halbarad, how do you feel?" Faramir asks.

"I am feeling a bit tired which I am sure some good rest will be able to solve. I have not had a lot to do for the last few days if you know what I mean." Halbarad tells Faramir. The question pulled him from him from his own thoughts. Luckily he heard what lord Faramir asked so that he did not have to ask the lord to repeat his question.

"I do know what you mean. Does the room meet your expectations, lord Halbarad?" Faramir asks.

"Yes, it does. I admit there is more furniture in the room than I need. There is nothing further. But might I ask you something?" Halbarad asks. He hopes that he can for he wants an answer. If not from the steward than he will have to ask the warden and hope he has the answers he wants. Which he seriously doubt the warden knows.

"Of course, lord Halbarad. You can ask me anything and I will answer them to the best of my abilities." Faramir says.


	7. Chapter 7

“Why are there guards at my door?”

Halbarad has been wondering about that ever since he saw them. It confuses him then as it still does now. He knows that there might be a few reasons for their presence. One of them is to guard lords against danger. Another is to ensure that no prisoner leaves the room. Which applies to him he does not know for certain. But from earlier conversations, he gets the impression that he is a valuable guest. So that would mean that they are there to protect him from danger. Not to ensure he does not leave. Still, he wants to have confirmation from lord Faramir.

“I had them assigned for your safety after I visited you this morning. It was then that I saw one of the injured Dúnedain standing guard at your door. This prompted me to decide to have a few guards assigned to you. That way your injured man can recover while your safety is assured. The men I had assigned are from the citadel guard. They will keep you safe, lord Halbarad. You have my word.”

Halbarad sees lord Faramir smile wryly at him before he continues.

“Besides you are not the only steward who has guards following him around. My own guards are waiting outside with yours. They left us alone to give us some privacy as well as them being aware that we are in no danger in this room. Once I leave they will surely follow me to ensure my safety. As I am sure you are aware of.”

“That I am aware of.” 

Halbarad smiles as he remembers all the times he had guards following him or saw someone else being followed. Which was usually Aragorn. It also makes him smile for they can sympathize with each other. They both were annoyed when they were followed by guards. He shakes his head once to clear his thoughts before continuing with what he wanted to say.

“I appreciate it that you assigned guards, lord Faramir. Still, you should not give yourself more problems. You are still recovering just as am I. You should not trouble yourself over me nor the one who looks after the city in your stead.”

When Halbarad thinks back to the reason lord Faramir gave for the guard assignment he feels relieved that he is no prisoner. Not that he actually believe he was. The steward's words simply confirmed his belief. That he is to be protected from danger. The honesty on lord Faramir’s face aides in reassuring him.

“I assure you it is no trouble for me or lord Húrin to make arrangements for your safety. Most of the arrangements are actually made by the captain of the citadel guards. Not by me or lord Húrin. But you are right that we are still recovering so I will leave you to your rest while also taking mine. The more we rest the faster our recovery will be. Rest well, lord Halbarad.”

“Rest well, lord Faramir.”

Halbarad gives an elvish farewell which Faramir return. He smiles because it amuses him that Faramir knows this. He has not expected to see it here. He only expected to get was a confused look. After this farewell Halbarad sees Faramir leaving the room. When he follows Faramir as he leaves the room he sees the warden standing there. Halbarad wonders why he is still here. He had imagined that the warden would have left quietly as his carriers did. He did not notice them leaving but knows that they have left for they are no longer in this room. Looking the warden in the eye he tries to find out the reason why he stayed behind. When they do not give him any answers he tries to get them in another way.

“Is there something you would like to discuss with me, master Neston?”

“No, my lord. I only stayed behind to inform you that one of the attendants will be bringing your possessions over within the next hour. I will leave you to your rest now as I hope your friend will do also.”

“Thank you for informing me, master Neston.”

Just as Halbarad speaks these words he sees the warden walking through the door. Seconds later he is gone. With the warden gone he finally has time to scold Aphadon. Thus he turns to look at his friend. As he does so he can see a frown on Aphadon’s face. Halbarad would like to know what is on Aphadon’s mind but decides to first scold Aphadon. Only afterward will he ask what is troubling Aphadon. Thus he looks Aphadon in the face to scold him.

“Why do you always have to act like that when it is not appreciated?”

Halbarad knows that he does not need to explain what he means with ‘it’. Aphadon will know what it means. Aphadon’s answer tells Halbarad that his belief is true.

“I only did it in an attempt to lift your spirit. You were looking so thoughtfully around the room that I was worried that you were stressing over something. I did not know that the Gondorians are so sensitive to be unable to deal with a joke. I am sorry to have disappointed you, my lord Halbarad.”

Aphadon’s face is remorseful as he says the last part. The remorse is mixed with guilt. This combination tells Halbarad that Aphadon knows he acted irresponsibly. Which is a relief, for now, he does not need to scold him as intensively as he has expected.

“It is good that you know that what you did is irresponsible. I expect you to remember to not do it again. If you do then I will inform Aragorn about it. You know what you can expect then, do you not?”

Halbarad knows that his words will be a low blow for Aphadon. But he only did so to ensure that Aphadon knows to behave next time and is aware of the consequences if he will not. That it is a low blow for Aphadon is confirmed by the look on his face. It clearly shows how painful it is to know that his friend will inform their lord about his irresponsible behavior. A thing which no one wants to experience ever. That Halbarad is certain of. After a while Halbarad sees Aphadon looking him in the eye. He gets the impression that Aphadon wants to tell him something. Thus he waits for him to speak up.

“I did get the impression that the warden does not like me.”

“Oh, I am certain that he does not like you because as you said the Gondorians are sensitive.”

Halbarad waits a second to see how Aphadon will react. At his laugh, Halbarad smiles and decides to give him the reason why the warden does not like him. At least in us opinion, that is.

“I think he is a bit out of by how you act around lords. Your reaction surprised him and he is not sure how to handle it. Do not try to make it worse now, Aphadon.”

Halbarad hopes that it is clear why the warden gave the impression that he does not like Aphadon. Also, he hopes that Aphadon understands that he wants to end this topic of conversation. Halbarad wants to discuss the guards the steward assigned. Even though he is certain that they are there for his safety it does not mean that he will like it. He could not say the steward do as that would have been offensive. Lord Faramir has been making arrangements while he should in facet be resting and also because his guards can be used somewhere else. Like for example for guarding the citadel. Also, Halbarad hopes that Aphadon will talk silently with him for he does not want to have the guards overhearing them. He does not want to make their task more difficult by them knowing that he does not want them.

“I promise, my lord, that I will not antagonize the warden anymore. What is it that you want to talk about?”

Halbarad can tell that Aphadon’s promise is truthful based on his expression. Something for which he is grateful. As well as pleads with. The time he takes for these considerations he also takes to consider how best to address the matter he wants to discuss.

“I would like to discuss my new guards with you. I was unaware that there was a guard at my door the day you and the steward visited me. That was the only time he could have seen him. I am certain of that for I heard you talking to someone outside is my room that day about what he has seen. Even then it gave me the impression that he was standing guard bit could not find a reason for him to do so. Do you know why there was a guard at my door then?”

Halbarad said all this as silently as possible without actually whispering. His guards should know that he and Aphadon are talking but not what their topic is. That is something which he would like to keep between them. For should they not know that they are talking then he fears that they might come into his room to check on him. They would like to assure themselves then that he is alright as well as to check to see what Aphadon is still doing here. Something which they will deem suspicious considering that everyone else has left the room. An occurrence that he knows might happen from past experiences. As such he also knows that it can lead to uncomfortable situations. Situations Halbarad would like to avoid it if he can.

“Ah, yes about that”

Halbarad sees Aphadon scratching his head. He wonders what is going on to make him so uncomfortable. Halbarad raises his eyebrow to try and have Aphadon tell him what is making him uncomfortable. He is certain that whatever is making him uncomfortable has to do with the question he asked Aphadon. Halbarad wants to know what is going on.

“I asked him to stand guard as I did not know who was in the houses at the time. Our lord chieftain asked me to ensure your safety while you are recovering. As I do not know who is here in the houses I did not want to any risks with your safety. Hence why I asked one of our own men to stand guard.”

“Well, that explains why the guard appeared to be wounded. Aphadon, I appreciate that you do your duty so well. Next time you will tell me when you assign a guard to me. I would like to know about that so that I will not be caught unaware by anyone anymore. Also, do not appoint an uninjured guard again. You know as well as I do that they need their rest if they are to recover fully from their injuries.”

“Of course, Halbarad. I will remember that in the future.”

Halbarad is a bit annoyed that Aphadon interrupted him. But then he can understand his behavior for he took a break in speaking. That would have given the impression that he is done talking. Even though he is a bit annoyed Halbarad makes good use of it by nodding in agreement. The times he gains through this he uses to accept the fact that so long as he resides in the houses he will have guards protecting him. He knows that there is nothing he can do about that. So he will have to accept it.

“Well, that he saw the guard you assigned explains why lord Faramir though it prudent for him to assign me guards.”

“It does. But do you know what amuses me?”

This question confuses Halbarad for he has no idea what Aphadon is amused by. As far as he knows there is nothing to be amused about. As such he looks at Aphadon with a confused look. This will tell Aphadon that he does not know what he is trying to tell him. Hopefully, this way Aphadon will tell him what is troubling him. The smile he receives as an answer only serves to increase his confusion.

“There is no real danger within the houses. As such it is excessive to have guards around to protect people. They can better be used to lighten the load on the men’s shoulders. That is actually the reason why I told the guard that it was no longer necessary for him to guard you after that one day. You did not need him and it would be better for him to rest and recover. For the lord Faramir to still assign you guards amuses me. I do not see a reason for their presence and consider it a waste of the man's skill.”

“Well, that there are no guards necessary to ensure my safety is a real relief. Not that I thought that they would be needed. There are only wounded men and woman here who are unable to pose a real threat. Also, I am nearly certain that all entrances are being well guarded. As such I would take a truly skilled man to pose a threat to myself and the other lords housed here.”

Halbarad then turns to look Aphadon in the eye before continuing.

“My safety might be given as the reason for their presence but I believe that there is, in fact, a totally different reason for their assignment.”

“What might that reason early, Halbarad. I am not aware of more reasons to guard guests except to ensure their safety. Also, why would lord Faramir not simply tell you that reason?”

Halbarad smiles amused for it is good to see that he managed to confuse Aphadon. It does not surprise him at all for Aphadon has never been around Gondor’s lords the same way Aragorn has been. Halbarad knows that he was only able to uncover the actual reason for his guards' assignment due to what Aragorn has explained him.

“The guards' presence has an implication for the civilians and warriors, Aphadon. It has no implications for me.”

Halbarad enjoys the confusion he gives Aphadon. Something which he has not been able to so often enough. That is the reason why he decided to bait Aphadon instead of simply giving him the answers he seeks.

“What do you mean? Is their presence needed to inform the people of your status as a lord? I did not imagine that that is the way lords proclaim themselves here.”

Aphadon’s flabbergasted look tells clearly how much he believes this to be a stupid reason. Halbarad has to smile at this look and decided to take pity on his friend by informing him about the real reason.

“No, Aphadon. That is not the reason for their assignment. Their presence will give the people and lords the impression that I am under the steward’s protection. I am certain that lord Faramir did this to ensure my safety as well as keeping the most obnoxious people away from me. That way I will be able to recover in relative peace. Hopefully, this impression will only need to be maintained until it can be made public that I am the king’s cousin as well as the steward of Arnor. That way the question, which I am certain will be asked, will be silenced for now.”

Halbarad can see the understanding rise on Aphadon’s face. It eases his mind that he does not need to explain everything all over again. Not that he would have minded. What does not surprise him is how quickly Aphadon responds once Halbarad can see that he fully understands the implications of the guards.

“I can imagine that obnoxious people will be asking the lord steward why he has placed you under his protection. Especially because they will see you as nothing more than a captain. Oh, what would I give to see their reactions once they learn that you are the steward of Arnor. But, Halbarad, are you aware that this room also has its implications?”

“I am aware of that, Mellon nin. It will tell them that I am of noble birth. I doubt that other than nobles will be residing here when they are injured. I cannot imagine that the lords from Gondor would be willing to reside in this wing with peasants. This wing would have been given another name where that the case.”

Halbarad knows that he could only agree with Aphadon. Denying the room’s implications would be foolish to do. The last part he added in an attempt to get Aphadon’s opinion is this wing. Based on the name he believes this wing to be one reserved for nobility as well as high ranking officials. Halbarad hopes to learn if Aphadon has the same opinion as him.

“Halbarad, I do not think that this wing is exclusively reserved for nobles. I believe that high ranking members of the state and military might also reside here when they are wounded. How could you get such an opinion? I would have thought you wiser than that.”

Aphadon’s smile tells Halbarad that Aphadon is teasing him. Based on that Aphadon must have figured out the reason why he said what he said. That is the only possible reason why Aphadon might have started to tease him.

“Oh, I am wiser than that and you know that fully well.”

Halbarad knows he should not have taken the bait. Aphadon’s eyes twinkle with anticipation for a teasing match. As Halbarad want to about that he looks out of the window. There he can see that it is already dark. It tells him that it is already late. It would explain why he feels as he does. He feels quite tired now and would like to do nothing but sleeping. When he looks back at Aphadon Halbarad can see that he is also looking out of the window. Hopefully to determine what the time is. Halbarad is barely able to notice the yawn that escapes Aphadon. That is why he decides that it is now time for Aphadon to return to his bed and for him to get his much-needed sleep. Without a lot of protests that is.

“Aphadon, I believe it is late enough that we should be going to sleep. I can tell that you are tired. Just as I am.”

“You are right. It is quite late so we should be getting our rest. I fear that the healers will otherwise give us trouble tomorrow. Something which I know everyone wants to avoid.”

Halbarad's smiles for he can tell that Aphadon is being serious. His smile falters when he notices the sky look on Aphadon’s face. Halabrad fears that he does not want to hear what Aphadon wants to say next.

“Halbarad, should the warden scold you for staying up too long I have a solution to offer to you. I suggest that you put all the blame on me. What do you say? Is it a good solution.”

Well, this is not what he thought Aphadon would tell him. Aphadon’s suggestion is a good one. Which is why Halbarad decides to agree with the solution. He intends to keep Aphadon to it should the warden decide to scold him tomorrow. That Aphadon will end up with a lot of trouble with the warden, Halbarad does not mind for it is Aphadon’s fault. He suggested it so he should accept the consequences.

“Yes, Aphadon that is a good solution. But now I would like for you to leave. I want to sleep. Good night.”

“What are you grumpy, Halbarad. Calm down a bit.”

Halabrad looks pointedly at Aphadon when he hears him react so indignantly. He wants to rest and not be pulled into another teasing battle with Aphadon. He believed that Aphadon only acted so indignantly in an attempt to tease him.

“Alright, alright. I will leave. Good night.”

Aphadon holds up his hands in surrender and has an innocent look in his eyes when he sees Halbarad’s look. Afterward, he just about flees the room which makes Halbarad chuckle. It is amusing how easy it is to get Aphadon to leave one in peace by giving him a pointed look. Halbarad only chuckles for a short while before lying down and quickly falling asleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another room, Faramir is tossing and turning in his bed. During all this sweat builds on his brow while he frowns. This is the result of the dream he is experiencing. In his dream, he is once more leading the defense of the Rammas Echor and calling out orders. All the while knowing that he will be unable to hold them off. As well as knowing that he was here before. He is simply unable to leave this place. No matter how much he wants to or tries to.

After some time calling out orders while fighting Faramir becomes aware that that the defense is becoming increasingly more dreadful by the minute. Dreadful for it is clear that he will be unable to hold the forces of Mordor off for much longer. He knows that he needs to start planning the retreat of those who can move as well as taking care of those who are unable to do so. He refuses to leave them to the mercy of the orcs and Haradrim. After a short but quick consideration of all possibilities he has Faramir makes his decision. Now he only needs to inform his lieutenants about his decision so that they can see it done.

“Lieutenants! Call for a retreat! Get everyone out of here.”

“Yes, Captain Faramir. But what about those who cannot be moved? What will we do with them?”

Faramir smiles slightly at the lieutenant for this shows that he has the same mind as himself. The lieutenant also does not want to leave any behind to the mercy of the orcs and Haradrim.

“Do not worry about them. I will ensure that they will not suffer. Go! Retreat!”

Faramir does not look back as he runs to where the wounded who cannot be moved are. During his run, he hears how his order to retreat is called along the Rammas Echor. It eases his mind to know that as many as possible will be able to get away from this place. Hopefully, nearly all will also be able to reach the safety of the city. He knows that the city will need every man they can present to defend it. Soon Faramir reaches the wounded and he is quick to release them from their suffering. Their eyes tell him that they agree with his decision. They know that they would suffer should they be taken prisoner.

Faramir knows that it is cruel to kill those who cannot defend themselves. But if he does not do this then they would suffer more than when he ends their suffering. At least now he knows that they will have a death as painless as is possible. Every face he encounters Faramir imprints in his mind. That way he will be able to inform their families about what happened to them. Hopefully, it will give them comfort. Even though he knows how little comfort will be.

Once he is done Faramir makes a run for his horse. As he reaches the stable he finds it total chaos. There are still men mounting horses while others help wounded into the saddle before them. Faramir can see that they are nearly done so he quickly locates his own horse and mounts him. He turns around in his saddle to see who is still inside the stable. There are but a few left which is a relief for Faramir. He does not like the thought of someone leaving after him.

Not long afterward, Faramir is riding away from the Ramas Echor. He knows as well as everyone who left around the time he left that they could not say much longer. Where any to stay much longer than he that they will most surely die or be taken prisoner. A fate he wants to about at all costs. His men, Faramir knows, want the same thing. Faramir knows that he needs to get back to the city as soon as possible to lead its defense together with his father and uncle. That is why he pushes his horse faster in a frantic attempt to quickly get behind the city’s walls.

During his frantic ride, Faramir can see and hear how more men are falling and dying. He hears the sounds of arrows hitting his men and them falling to the ground. Also, he can hear the sound of arrows flying through the air. There are sounds of arrows hitting armor. As he focuses on where the arrows fly he becomes aware of the sound of horses running in the direction of him and his men from Minas Tirith. It is to this sound that he looks up and feels relief wash over him. His uncle is coming to aid as many as possible into the city.

Faramir smiles relieved and decides that he needs to focus on his ride once more if he wants to reach Minas Tirith alive. It is then that he notices Haradrim closing in on him. He pushed his horse faster to get away from them. It is during this that he feels an arrow burying itself in his shoulder. The pain is so great that it knocks the air out of his lungs. Faramir struggles to stay awake and in his saddle. After a short struggle during which he notices his uncle closing in on him, Faramir loses the battle. The world goes black around him.

Suddenly Faramir becomes aware of the world around him. He can feel himself breathing hard as well as his sweaty his feels. He looks around fearfully and is relieved to see that he is in the houses of healing. He now knows that he was just remembering the events that lead almost lead to his death. It is not something which Faramir wants to remember.

The knowledge that it was just a dream eases Faramir’s mind. Still, it takes some time before he knows that he is calm again. Once he is calm he lies down again and tries to get back to sleep. He knows that he is in dire need of it. Unfortunately for him, it takes quite some time before he is able to fall asleep. He tosses and turns until he feels so exhausted that he simply falls asleep from his exhaustion alone. For the remainder of the night, he has a quiet and undisturbed sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**March 20th**

Faramir lies calmly in his bed trying to forget last night’s dream. He woke up a short while before. He was relieved to note that he did manage to find his rest last night. Even though the dream still haunts him. Now that he is awake Faramir keeps feeling the pain in his shoulder. Pain which he did not feel yesterday. He worries that he might have re-injured his shoulder during his dreaming. This tells him that he needs to seek out master Neston later to check his shoulder. Still, he hopes that he will be able to get some kind of painkiller after breakfast. It will allow him to move around easily. Even if he will be a bit drowsy. The thought of breakfast reminds him how hungry he is. He hopes that Beregond will bring his breakfasts soon. Then he will be able to search out master Neston.

At that time Faramir hears the door being opened quietly. It pulls him from his thoughts and when he looks up to see who came into his room he can see that it is Beregond. Beregond is holding a tray containing what Faramir believes to be his breakfast. He can see that Beregond is also looking at him. Faramir smiles in answer to the smile and nod he receives.

“Good Morning, my lord.”

Good morning, Beregond. I believe you are holding my breakfast, am I right?”

“You are right, my lord. I bring it now as it is still fresh. I thought you would be asleep hence my silent entry. Shall I lay everything out on the table for you, my lord?”

“Yes, please do so. When you do that, I will ready myself for the day.”

Well, that means it is time for him to leave his bed. Faramir grabs his clothing and dresses as quickly as he can. During the dressing, he can feel the pain in his shoulder worsening. It makes him hiss from time to time. He tried to be as silent as possible when he hisses because he hopes that Beregond does not hear it. He would like to keep his pain hidden from others. Even though he will be seeking the warden out later.

“My lord, are you alright?”

Faramir looks up from putting on his boots. He can see Beregond staining next to the table with a worried look on his face. At the same time, he sees that his breakfast has been entirely laid out. He wonders how much Beregond has heard him hiss. When he does not answer Faramir can see the worry on Beregond’s eyes increase. Faramir sighs for it is clear that he has been unable to hide his pain from Beregond. As such he knows that it is of no use for him to deny anything. He will have to admit it. Whether he likes it or not.

“I am fine, Beregond. My shoulder just pains me a bit when I put my clothes on.”

He knows that he is downplaying but refuses to admit to Beregond in much pain he is. He does the same thing with other people when they ask after his pain and injuries. The only one who he has been honest within his life if Boromir.

“Would you like me to seek out the warden so that he can take a look at your shoulder? And for him to possibly get you something for the pain?”

“That would be appreciated. Please ask him to come to my room. I will await him here.”

Well, Faramir has to admit that it has its benefits that Beregond heard it. Now he does not need to seek out the warden himself. Nor does he need to ask someone to give him some pain draught. It will mean that he can eat his breakfast in peace and can go seek his peace in the garden earlier than he has expected to be able to do.

“Of course, my lord. I will seek him out at once. Please enjoy your breakfast.”

Beregond bows to him and then leaves the room. Faramir is left alone and is quick to start on his breakfast. He has always liked to eat when it is still fresh. For as far as is possible to do so. For during patrols it is impossible to eat fresh. Also, once the warden arrives he will be unable to eat for the warden will claim his entire attention. He will want to examine his shoulder and for that needs his full attention. Otherwise, master Neston will be unable to discover what is wrong with his shoulder. Additionally, master Neston will not be willing to give him a pain draught if he has eaten before taking it. Medication on an empty stomach is forbidden by all healers. It is something which person who has been in the houses knows.

The breakfast fills him up quite well. It eases his mind a bit. Not as much as a walk through the garden will. As such Faramir cannot wait for the warden to visit and for himself to visit the garden.

Ten minutes later just as Faramir finishes his breakfast he hears a knock on the door. He hopes that it is the warden who has knocked for then he can leave soon for the garden. Still, he does want to raise his hopes too much for he is not certain what the warden has to do today. If he has a lot to do then it is likely for him to handle the important matters first. And Faramir considers himself not so important that the warden will leave all other matters if he calls for him. He imagines that the warden will most likely send another healer to him if he is to busy. As such he does not know if the warden has time for him now. Nor who actually knocked on his door. No matter how much he would like for the warden to examine his shoulder. Also, Faramir refuses to have the warden drop what he is doing just for him. Only if the warden has time should he come. Else he should simply send a healer.

When the door opens, Faramir sees the warden calmly entering his room. Following him is a healer and an apprentice who is holding a tray. Faramir raises his eyebrow for he wonders why the warden brought the aides with him as well as supplies. A bandage Faramir would understand but not so many supplies that a tray is needed. He wonders what the warden thinks he needs to do. Well, Faramir is certain of one thing. That is that it will not take long for him to learn just what the warden intends to do.

Faramir sees the healer walking to the table where she stacks everything he used for breakfast neatly together. Once the healer is done the apprentice places the tray on the table and both calmly step back to let the warden take lead. It tells Faramir that the healer is inexperienced as well as the apprentice. The warden will only have taken them along for them to learn from observing him. As well as serving as aides for him.

“My lord, I understand from Beregond that your shoulder pained you when you dressed. Please allow us to aid you in removing your shirt. That way we will be able to ensure that as little damage as is possible is added to your existing injury. Afterward, I will take a good look at your shoulder and see what the problem is.”

Faramir nods in agreement with the warden’s plan. In fact, there is little he could do about it. He knows that his shirt needs to be removed for the warden to be able to examine his shoulder. Protesting will only irritate the warden for he asked him to examine his shoulder and then refuses to allow him access to his injury. Faramir knows that the way the warden offered to do remove his shirt will ensure that it will be done as painless as possible. As such he allows them to move his arm in the way they want to and to remove his shirt without moving his arm on his own.

It does not take them long to remove his shirt for which Faramir is grateful. The way they moved his shoulder was painful from time to time. Or uncomfortable depending on the movement that was made. Then that he feels the warden start pressing on his shoulder wound. Some of the places the warden presses on feel painful to touch. St the time he touches them Faramir flinches or hisses. After a few minutes of pressing Faramir is relieved to note that the warden stops. Unfortunately, his relief is short-lived for the warden then starts to flex his shoulder. Faramir has the impression that he wants to know how well he can move it. The flexing thankfully is not painful though it is uncomfortable. It mostly comes from the fact that he has not used his shoulder much since injuring it.

“Well, my lord, you are lucky. You have not worsened your injury though I imagine that it will be stiff for longer than I expected initially. Now I would like to replace the drain for it is a bit bloody. Most likely from some rough movement, you made tonight while sleeping. Afterward, we will bandage it and place your arm in a sling. You are to wear the sling for the coming few days so that everything will close.”

Well, that explains why the warden brought so many supplies. He must have expected to have to remove the drain. Most likely so that it will continue to do its duty. Faramir is thus reminded that he has a drain in his shoulder. A drain which he has not felt at all yesterday nor today. It most likely comes from the fact that he has not used his arm that much and thus that the drain has not seen much movement.

“My lord, are you alright?”

Faramir looks up surprised to see the warden looking worriedly at him. The warden is holding a hand to his forehead most likely to check his temperature. At the same time, the healer is holding his wrist tightly. Most likely to check his heartbeat Faramir thinks. The apprentice stands a bit back with an uncertain look on her face. It is clear to see that she has never seen anything like this before and does not know how to handle it. Faramir smiles reassuringly her before turning his attention back to the warden and the healer. He knows that he needs to speak up soon to reassure the warden.

“I am fine, master warden. I was just a bit lost in thoughts. I am sorry to have worried you.”

“Well, I am glad that you think you are alright.”

The tone the warden uses clearly shows his irritation as well as how much he believes him. That is, not at all. It makes Faramir frown for he does not know what the warden is trying to tell him. He feels fine except for the pain he occasionally feels in his shoulder. Now it is quite painful as a result of the warden’s examination. But he does not think it so severe that it would require such worry or response from the warden. Faramir decides that he needs to ask the warden what he means if he wants to know what the warden is trying to tell him.

“What do you mean, master warden?”

“I mean that you feel quite sweaty as if you either have a fever or are in quite some pain. That are the only two options for it has not been so hot to warrant sweating. Well, are you in a lot of pain, my lord?”

Faramir flushes a bit because the warden looks at him pointedly. As if he is a misbehaving child. No matter how older he is this look from the warden always makes him feel like a naughty child. He knows from the warden’s question that he believes that pain is the logical reason. As he feels pain in his shoulder Faramir knows that he should simply admit it. It might, in the end, aid him into getting so pain draught.

“I admit that my shoulder hurts a lot now. I did not know that it was so bad that I would like to react physically like this.”

Faramir looks attentively at the warden to see what his reaction will be. As such he sees the warden nodding before turning his attention to the apprentice. After a few quick words, he sends her out to get some pain draught from the herb-master. Afterward, the warden turns his attention back to him.

“My lord, I would like you to lay down on the bed so that we can treat your shoulder. You will get the draught after we have finished treating your shoulder.”

“Of course, master warden.”

Faramir calmly lies down on the bed while dreading the upcoming treatment. He knows that it will hurt even more than when the warden examined his wound. He would have liked to drink the pain draught before the warden would treat his wound. As Faramir knows that it will hurt he decides to focus his thoughts on happy times instead of the treatment. That way he will notice as little of the pain as is possible. He actually hopes to not feel any of it.

Faramir thinks back to when Boromir and he were young and were playing together. These were great times as they had a lot of fun together. Both when they were inside as well as when they were outside. Inside the house they played games and outside they played with what they could find. As well as sword fighting for fun with wooden swords. He also thinks about the times when they were both called to the throne room to observe their father doing his duties. Now he understands that it was meant to prepare them for the day when one of them had to do it. At those times Faramir found them exhausting and from time to time boring. Most of the time though he found it fun to watch his father working. He enjoyed it, even more, when their opinion was asked. Then they could speak openly about their opinion on matters as otherwise they were meant to be silent. It always gave him a good feeling when his father acknowledged their opinion. It gave him the impression that they helped their father make a good decision. Even if he did the opposite of what they suggested.

A door opening pulls him from his thoughts and he hisses at the sting of a stitch going through his skin and being pulled tightly. Faramir regrets letting him be pulled from his thoughts. He should have kept his attention on his thoughts.

“My lord, you can rise now for we are finished treating your shoulder. We will be aiding you into your shirt before placing your arm in a sling. After that, you can drink the draught the apprentice collected.”

“Of course, master warden. I appreciate the aid you give me. I know that it is not something which you are expected to do.”

Faramir is actually glad that they are finished. It will mean that he will not feel much pain in his shoulder anymore. He is also glad that he only felt the last stitch being made. It would have been terrible had he felt everything the warden did to his shoulder. As for thanking the warden, Faramir deems this normal for it is not expected that the warden treats the wounds of patients. Normally, it is only done by a healer after the warden has examined it. That is if the warden is expected to examine a wound. Such a thing might apply for the nobility if they are high enough in ranking or the healers are uncertain of how to treat a wound. It serves to remind Faramir that he is a nobleman of high ranking as a member of the house of Húrin.

The healer and the warden are quick to begin to dress him again. Faramir lets them maneuver his arm once more so they will be satisfied that he will not be further injuring his shoulder.

It does not take them long before he wears his shirt again. After that the healer places his arm in the sling she just made. Faramir instantly feels that his shoulder cannot be moved much anymore.

At the same time as the healer places the sling, the warden gives him the pain draught the apprentice went to collect. He drinks it quickly and grimaces at the taste. It tastes still as bad as he remembers. As such he appreciates the glass of water he is offered afterward. It ensures that the bad taste will disappear. Well, it will mostly disappear. A bit of the taste will always linger for a few hours.

“My lord, a healer will come by this evening to help you out of your shirt. Tomorrow morning a healer will aide you into it again. We will follow this routine until your shoulder is sufficiently healed that you can do it on your own.”

“Of course, master warden.”

Faramir sees the warden leave his room after his answer. He feels annoyed at the routine the warden explained to him. He does not like it when he needs to depend on others to do something as simple as dressing. He only accepts it when he knows that he cannot do it on his own. Those times he is always confined to bed. Now that he is able to walk around he wants to do it on his own as he has always done. With this routine, he knows that he will not be able to dress when he wants to. Hopefully, his shoulder will soon be sufficiently healed that he will be allowed to dress fully on his own.

Not long after the warden left, Faramir leaves the room. He intends to seek out the garden. It has always been a place for him to find peace. Faramir calmly walks through the hallways where he only encounters an occasional healer. Most of the patients are either already in the garden or are still in their room. It eases him to see that the houses are back to normal. Or as normal as is possible with housing many patients following a battle. It is a calming sight to see.

As he enters the garden a short while later Faramir can see that there are many people in the main part for the garden. They are all either talking to each other or simply enjoying the peace of the garden. It is good to see the people engaging with each other and enjoying each other’s presence. As for those that are enjoying the peace they are either reading, listening to the sounds of the garden or looking at the plants in the garden. It shows that they are recovering from their wounds even though the war has not yet ended. Faramir hopes that their recovery will not in vain and that lord Aragorn will succeed in his mission. Then Faramir is certain that peace will return to Gondor and they will have a king again. With this on his mind, Faramir starts to walk around the garden.

While walking Faramir lets his mind wander. He thinks about all that has happened in the last few weeks. From finding his brother’s funeral boat and the broken horn to the doomed defense of the Rammas Echor. He also thinks about what the future will bring for Gondor and himself. Faramir lets everything pass through his mind so that later he will be able to find his peace better. If he does not then it will continue to bother him during the day and night. Faramir knows this from past experiences.

As he walks around Faramir does not notice the people looking at him or greeting him. So focused is he on his own thoughts. At the same time, he fails to notice the signs of someone following him.

When Faramir reaches the bastion he places his hand on it and looks over the field before him. The sight that greets him saddens him for he sees how much the farmland has been destroyed. This destruction means that the farmers will long be dependent on others to supply them with food among others. He knows that they will not have the reserves necessary to survive on their own. Their priority will lie in the need to buy seeds and or animals to start building their livelihood again. This makes Faramir determined to ensure that Gondor will aid them in any way possible. Other people will only be able to support the farmers and their families for so long. This thought reminds him of how many farmers have been drafted into the army and have died. Those families will thankfully receive a widow’s pension but it will not be enough for them to survive and rebuild their livelihood. If they intend to rebuild it that is. Some Faramir assumes will return to their families and in the end built a whole new life for themselves.

Looking carefully at the land Faramir notices that there are people moving around cleaning up the aftermath of the battle. Faramir wonders where all these men have been found for he does not remember there being so many men left. Especially considering that lord Aragorn took a large number of men with him. It is then that he notices the camps on the field and the men patrolling them. Further back he can see a camp belonging to the Rohirrim based on the banner that flies there. The banner is green and depicts a horse. This tells him that the men working are most likely prisoners of war. As such he also gets the impression that they get but the bare minimum of tools. And those are also dull so as to not pose a threat during a possible revolt. That impression he bases on his past experiences with prisoners of war he took and his own experiences with being a prisoner of war.

“My lord Faramir, what has your mind so occupied? If I might ask that is.”

Faramir looks up surprised when he hears the voice of the lord Halbarad. He has not heard him coming upon him. He looks in the direction he heard the voice heard from and sees Lord Halbarad standing next to him. Lord Halbarad is leaning heavily against the bastion. Faramir is surprised to see him for he would not have imagined that lord Halbarad would be able to walk so far on the first day. He must have for the distance from his room to the bastion is great. It makes him admire lord Halbarad for Faramir knows that he would not have been able to walk this distance on his day after suffering similar injuries.

Faramir smiles calmly at the lord for he knows that he has a great opportunity now. With the question lord Halbarad asked Faramir knows that he has a way to learn something about lord Aragorn. He does not know how close the lords are, so does not know if he should take it literally or not. That he will only learn when lord Halbarad talks about lord Aragorn.

“You may ask, lord Halbarad. A lot of matters have my mind occupied right now.”

Hopefully, with this lord Halbarad will take his bait and talk to him about lord Aragorn. If he does then he does not have to offer more baits to get him to talk. Or have to let go of his objective to learn about lord Aragorn. Whatever will be the case will depend on the answer he receives.

“I can understand that, lord Faramir. My condolences for the death of your father. But due to his death did you became the steward of Gondor. Which is a sudden change considering that your father was not ill from what I heard. A sudden change in responsibilities can be overwhelming. I know that from my own experiences.”

Faramir sees that lord Halbarad says this with a thoughtful look on his face. It tells him that what he just heard is based on personal experiences just as the lord said. It confuses him for he has not expected to hear something like this. He would have expected to get a question about what is on his mind. But not the reaction he just received. Thankfully this reaction has not closed the doors on bus desire to learn about Lord Aragorn. Without asking prying questions that is. That is if the experiences lord Halbarad mentioned are from lord Aragorn experiencing a sudden change in responsibilities. If not then Faramir has no idea how do approach the topic of lord Aragorn’s character. As such he decides to work with the opportunity he got.

“That is right, lord Halbarad. It is overwhelming to have the responsibilities of the steward of Gondor so suddenly. Even though I have been prepared for it since I was young. But might I ask when you experienced something like it?”

“Do you ask if I myself experienced it or know someone who has?”

Lord Halbarad gives him a sly look as he asks this. Faramir flushes slightly and hopes that it has gone unnoticed. He did not know that he was so clear in his direction of questioning. He had hoped that he was able to ask it. Hopefully, lord Halbarad will not take offense to it. Based on the lord’s expression he has not taken offense. Faramir hopes that it stays to so. It would also be really embarrassing if lord Halbarad noticed his flushing. From what he could detect the lord has not noticed it for which he is glad.

“I myself experienced it when my father died suddenly and I became the steward of Arnor. At that time I was thankful for all the lessons my father and lord Aragorn taught me. It aided me a lot in the beginning when I was still getting used to my new position. What also aided was the advice the village elders gave me. Something for which I am eternally grateful. All that eased the transition a lot for me. So much so that I barely had trouble adapting to it.

As for another person who experienced a sudden change in responsibilities I only know about Aragorn. He had that when he returned to us. At that time he received all the responsibilities of the chieftain while before he had only those of a warrior. Until his return my father handled everything and as such, he acted as Aragorn’s adviser. The village elders and captains did the same for him while I always ensured that he could talk to me when something was bothering him. It ensured that he learned how to handle his responsibilities even though he had some trouble in the beginning.

As for yourself, lord Faramir. You need to give yourself time to get used to your new responsibilities. I can tell you that with time you will become fully used to the responsibilities.”

Well, that explains how lord Halbarad knew about how it feels to have a sudden change in responsibilities. It does surprise Faramir to learn that both lord Halbarad and lord Aragorn experienced in the past what he does now. He would have expected for them to be eased into them and not receive them suddenly. It makes him wonder how dangerous life in the north is. As for himself, Faramir now is sure that he should rely on his advisers to smoothing his way into getting used to being the steward of Gondor. He already planned to rely on them but now decided to rely on them even more. This decision he makes based on what lord Halbarad just told him. Knowing that with time everything will become normal eases his mind a bit. It confirms his own experience that time allows one to get used to things. Even those one does not believe one will get used to.

“That eases some of the matters that occupy my mind.”

“What else bothers you, lord Faramir? Sharing a burden will lessen how much it can trouble you.”

“You are right, lord Halbarad. You are right.”

Faramir smiles amused. It amuses him to see how easy he is to read for the lord. He does try to give off a neutral expression. He has learned early on that showing emotions freely will lead to problems later on. Well, it might have something to do with the lord’s son. Faramir knows from experience that fathers are quite capable of reading a person even when that person tries to hide their feelings. For mothers counts the same. That would explain how lord Halbarad manages to read him so well. As well as giving him advice that calms him down. He must have used it more than once on his son. This tells him that lord Halbarad is a good father. Even though he does not like it to know how much Halbarad can read him, Faramir decides to tell him what is else is bothering him.

“The other matter that is bothering me is our future. I worry what will happen in a few days when the host will reach Morannen. Will they succeed and free everyone from the threats of Mordor. Or will they fail and our world will end. How will I protect my people then? I do not know how to do it.”

Faramir knows that he rambles a bit but justifies this by the fact that his rambling is that which worries him the most at this time. If he wants lord Halbarad to understand what is worrying him then he needs to express his worry freely. Even if it means that he will ramble.

“Lord Faramir, calm yourself!”

The voice of lord Halbarad pulls him from his thoughts. Only then does he notice that he is breathing quite shallowly. At the same time, he feels the hands of lord Halbarad on his shoulder and also notices that said lord is looking him attentively in the eye. Faramir flushes for it is embarrassing that he had a near panic attack in the presence of a lord. He always believed that he had good control over his emotions. Hopefully, his current lapse in control stems from the events of the past few months. Faramir takes a deep breath, bows his head and turns away from the lord so that he can gather himself back together.

“Forgive me, lord Halbarad. I did not know what came over me.”

Well, Faramir is fully aware that he knows exactly what came over himself. Looking at the lord makes it clear to him that he also knows what came over him. More importantly, lord Halbarad knows that he knows it too. That is if he reads the amused smile correctly.

“Oh! I am certain that we both know what came over you. Do not worry, lord Faramir, considering the past few months it is understandable that you reacted as you did. I assure you there are more suffering from the same problem as you do.”

Faramir smiles calmly. He intends to tell lord Halbarad this way that he appreciates his words. Lord Halbarad smiles back at him before turning his attention to land before them. He looks at it for a short while before turning to look back at him.

“Lord Faramir, I tell you not to lose hope just yet. I know my cousin well and can tell you this. Aragorn has managed what seemed to be impossible before. I have the utmost trust in him that he will succeed in his task. He told me that he intends to distract Sauron long enough that the halflings can succeed in their own task. I imagine that it will not be that difficult for him as Sauron has been focused on his family for a long time. Sauron will not let the chance to kill Aragorn slip through his fingers. Of that I am certain.

What we need to do in the meantime, lord Faramir is keeping the hope for a victory up. The men here need their leaders to give them courage. But I am certain that you know that already as you are a captain. You should only allow yourself to fall to doubts when it is clear that Aragorn has failed.”

“Of course lord Halbarad, I will remember that. Thank you for your words for they ease my worry. Some of your words actually confirm what I already knew. It is relieving to hear another captain say the same as what I already knew. ”

“It is alright, lord Faramir, I know that worry will not suddenly disappear. It will take time. As for having things confirmed, I can only confirm that it is relieving.”

Faramir sees lord Halbarad look searchingly at him afterward. Faramir decides to keep his face emotionless. At the same time, he is internally completely confused. He does not know what the lord is looking for. Still, he hopes that lord Halbarad finds what he seeks soon. Faramir does not like it to be under scrutiny. Not long after lord Halbarad started looking he seems to have found what he was looking for. Lord Halbarad smiles at him then.

“You know, lord Faramir, that you do not need to thank me for something which everyone would have done, do you?”

Faramir smiles amused for now he knows a bit what lord Halbarad was looking for. Lord Halbarad was looking for the reason why he thanked him. As for his amusement, it amuses him how the lord can look do differently at things. It is actually not strange for lord Halbarad manages to amuse him quite a bit. This has him believing that things are quite different in Arnor than they are here in Gondor. Most likely, the protocol is not followed so tightly there as it is done here. Also, he does not believe that there is a large difference in work done by nobles and peasants in Arnor. As such the nobles will most likely help the peasants out. A thing he cannot believe his father would have ever done. If that is the case then Faramir knows that lord Aragorn will have a lot to get used to once he becomes king. He hopes that lord Aragorn is aware of it and willing to learn how things are done in Gondor by nobles. Looking up, Faramir decides to let this matter rest. He will learn about it on a later time when he and lord Halbarad are more used to each other. For now, he decides that it is best to explain why he did as he did.

“It is expected in Gondor that one thanks the other when that person offers them aide or advice. I do know that there would have been many who would have done the same as you just did.”

Faramir is certain that lord Halbarad will now understand why he thanked him. To get confirmation he looks at lord Halbarad to see what his response will be. He only receives a smile in response. It gives him the impression that lord Halbarad did have the correct impression of his reason for thanking him. Also, Faramir gets the impression that lord Halbarad has something else to say to him yet. This impression he already got when lord Halbarad looked at him and from the reaction he just received.

“Is there something you want to ask or tell me?”

Faramir does not receive an answer as they both turn around to look at the garden. Then they walk quietly in the garden for a while. This makes him feel at peace once more. Just as he did when he arrived in the garden. Faramir is certain that lord Halbarad will feel the same peace as he does. It is common knowledge that everyone feels peace inside the garden. After some time, Faramir does receive the answer to his question.

“Forgive me for letting my mind wander, lord Faramir. There is actually something I would like to tell you. I almost forgot it because it is so peaceful here.”

“I know it is peaceful here. The healers do everything they can to maintain it. That is also the reason why it is always so busy here when there are a lot of patients in the houses. Those that can walk will want to experience the peace of the garden. Not that it affects the peace of the garden.”

“That I can tell. But what I would like to tell you is that you can always come to me. No matter the time and no matter what you want to talk about. I will always offer you a listening ear and give you the advice I can give you. I know that you will most likely already have people to talk to. Do not let it stop you from seeking me out.”

“Of course, lord Halbarad. I will remember that and keep you to it.”

Lord Halbarad nods in answer to this. Faramir is, despite the answer he gave, totally surprised by this offer. He has not expected lord Halbarad to offer himself as a confidant for his troubles. He would think that the lord will have more important things to do than listen to his worries. Still, he intends to keep lord Halbarad to it. It will allow him to talk to someone who has a fresh mind concerning his worries. Not a person who has heard or dealt with similar matters. They always prefer to deal with it as they have done in the past. Or at least, that is his experience. As such he knows that he will get different advice this way than when he would only rely on his advisers. But still, it does not mean that he will discuss state secrets with lord Halbarad. And if he has to then he knows that he will mask what his worry is really about while still asking for advice on the heart of the matter. That way he will get the advice he needs and not spread state secrets around. Faramir is aware that it will be a difficult task for him when he has to do so.

After a few minutes, he and lord Halbarad quietly walk both into a different direction. The direction lord Halbarad walks into is one with plenty of benches. This tells Faramir that lord Halbarad most likely intends to rest for a while at one of the benches. After that, he will most likely walk back to his room lie down for a while.

“My lord?”

Faramir turns around at these words. It annoys him once more that he has not heard that someone approached him. He is careful to hide this from whoever just called him by taking in a neutral facial expression. When he turns around and looks to see who called him he sees the warden looking worried at him. This tells him that it was the warden who called him. The warden stands a bit away from him. Behind his right shoulder, Faramir can see a woman standing.

When Faramir looks at the woman he knows that there is only one word to describe her that comes to his mind. That is beautiful. The woman has blond hair and blue eyes which tells him that she is most likely a Rohirrim. She is wearing a white dress and is holding one arm in a sling. Faramir is confused to see this as he does not know how she could have received such an injury. As far as he knows the Rohirrim never take their woman with them when they ride into battle. To now see a Rohirric woman with what he believes to be a battle injury confuses him.

The scraping of a throat reminds him that he is not alone. It also serves to inform him of his staring. Faramir can feel the embarrassment taking over for it is embarrassing that he was seen staring. No matter how well he knows people it does nothing to lessen his embarrassment. Hopefully, no will have noticed his embarrassment.

“Yes, master Neston. What can I do for you?”

“You could aid me by talking to the princess Éowyn. She wants to be able to leave her room at any time. And if that was not enough she also wants to have a different room. We do not have rooms to spare.”

Faramir can clearly see and hear how agitated the warden is. This tells him that he was most likely disturbed in his work or that his schedule has been disrupted. A thing Faramir knows better than to ever do. Also, making the request the princess will have aided in agitating the warden. The reason for this is that is that the warden does not have the space to accommodate princess Éowyn’s wishes.

Faramir knows that he needs to calm the warden down soon or else he will lose his mind with how agitated he currently is. That will not be good for the warden nor for the patients currently residing in the garden. Faramir quickly determines how to achieve this. He decides thus that he will quickly to put the warden out of his misery.

“Master Neston, I will look into it. You can go back to what you were doing before. Do not worry, I will handle it.”

Faramir calmly smiles at the warden in an attempt to calm master Neston down. After a few seconds, it appears as if his objective has been achieved. The warden’s posture eases and he takes a few deep breaths.

“Thank you, my lord. Then I will leave you and the princess to discuss the matter in private.”

Seconds later, the warden has left the garden and Faramir and Éowyn are left alone. Faramir and Éowyn look uncomfortable around themselves. They do not know where to start their needed conversation for they do not know each other. Faramir made this conclusion based on what he saw when he saw when he glanced at the princess he sees they she does the same. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Faramir decides to end it. It will only make them feel more uncomfortable if he lets the silence stretch.

“Your Highness, I am certain that you can leave your room at any time providing that during the nightly you do not bother anyone in their sleep. I do not believe that the healers will forbid you from wandering.”

“That I have been told already by one of the healers, lord, before the warden showed up. Only he made a problem out of it. But besides that, as you know my name I would appreciate it were I to know yours.”

“Of course, Your Highness. Forgive me for forgetting to introduce myself. My name is Faramir son of Denethor. I am the steward of Gondor.”

As Faramir says this he bows to the princess. When he looks at the princess he can see a small smile on her face. This pleases him for he wanted to see her smile ever since she and the warden entered the garden. Now Faramir knows that it is time to discuss the other matter the warden mentioned.

“Your Highness, would you be willing to tell me why you desire to change your room?”

“I am willing to tell you that because I would namely like to be able to watch east. That way I will be able to know how the men are doing when I cannot be there with them.”

“Why do you want to be there with the men, Your Highness?”

Hopefully, she will be able to tell him the reason for it confuses him that she would want to be there with the men. She appeared to him as a strong-willed woman with a sense of duty. So it does not add up that she would not want to look after the injured Rohirrim.

“There is so little for me to do in these dark hours. I feel as if the world is collapsing around me. If we are to die then I would like to do it while fighting. Also, as I have nothing do here it makes me feel useless.”

“That is a sentiment that all the men here will agree with. We all want to die fighting if our world will end. As for having nothing to do, Your Highness, I do know that a lot of Rohirrim reside in the houses. If I might, you could look after them and comfort those that need it. It would give you something to do even if it is not much.”

Princess Éowyn smiles in understanding at his first words while a frown appears on her brow at his offered advice. It is as if she is considering his words. As if she had not thought about it and now her eyes are opened. Faramir hopes that she will heed his words as it will make her stay in the houses more pleasant.

“I know that many of my kinsmen reside in the houses. I had had not thought about them during the last few days, I am afraid.”

Faramir smiles reassuringly at her when he sees her guilty look. That makes him decide to reassure her and redirect their topic of conversation.

“There is no need to feel guilty, Your Highness. If your mind is occupied by something you can forget your duties easily. No matter how you handle them normally. But let us leave this topic to it and return to the reason why you and the warden sought me out. Your current room is in the noble wing, am I right?”

Faramir sees princess Éowyn frown at his words. It gives him the impression that she needs to think about his question. As if she is not sure what her answer is. He knows that he has to wait patiently for the princess to answer his question.

“I believe so, lord steward, but I am not certain. I am afraid that I have not paid much attention to many things in the last few days. I let myself wallow in my depressing thoughts and thus did not pay attention to where my room is located. I do know that there are but few rooms occupied in the wing where mine is located. That is also why I asked for the room change. I was and am certain that there are rooms free which meet my request.”

Well, Faramir now knows why she made the request. Her description of how many rooms are in use corresponds with his knowledge of the used rooms in the noble wing. He knows thus that it is certainly possible for her to change rooms. Faramir is also aware that there are a few rooms available that have a window to the east. As such there are rooms available which meet the princess’s requirement. All this does not explain why the warden became so agitated by the request. He must also have known that there were rooms free in the noble wing which meet the criteria that have been asked for. It confuses Faramir immensely but he does all he can to hide his confusion from the princess. It is also the reason why he decides to make the arrangements himself.

“Princess, I will discuss with the warden which room you will get assigned and when you can move there. I do know that there are rooms available which meet your requirements. An apprentice will inform you about our decision once we have made it.”

Faramir hopes that with this he has explained everything satisfactory. Right now, only the princess can inform him if he is right in his belief.

“That would be appreciated, lord steward. Thank you for your effort. I will await word of your meeting with the warden.”

“There is no need to thank me.”

Faramir smiles reassuringly at her and receives a similar smile in return.

“Have a nice day, lord steward.”

With that princess Éowyn turns around to leave the garden. Faramir becomes a bit stressed when he sees her leave. He wants to spend more time with her to get to know her before making a decision if a relationship is possible between them. He has to quickly think about a way to ensure that before it is lost to him. He does not like to seek her out simply to ask her to spend time with him. That could be seen as an offer for courtship which would require her brother to be present. Just as the princess is about to walk through the door leading into one of the houses, he decides to stop her for a short while.

“Princess Éowyn, wait! Please wait a moment.”

“Yes, lord steward. Is there something you want to discuss with me?”

Faramir is relieved when she stops and turns around. But the frown on her brow makes him feel a bit guilty. It clearly shows that she is confused that he asked her to wait. It tells him that he needs to be careful in how to form his request. If he does not then just what he tries to avoid might actually happen.

“I do not know if you eat your breakfast alone or in the company of others, princess, but if you eat it alone then I would be willing to offer you the opportunity to eat breakfast with me in the garden. I also eat my breakfast alone. From experience, I know that it is much more pleasurable to eat when one has the company of others.”

“I do eat my breakfast alone and would be happy to accept your offer, lord steward. I too have learned the same thing as you have. But if you could excuse me, I have people who I need to look after.”

With that, she leaves the garden without any further interruptions and Faramir is once more alone. He has a feeling that she is quite pleased with the outcome of their conversation. At least he hopes she is. As for now, Faramir decides that he will wander for a while longer in the garden. There is little else for him to do at this time. Maybe he will sit down for a while. If there is a free bench that is. Considering how many people he saw earlier he has his doubts about finding a free bench.

* * *

Meanwhile, Halbarad has been wandering in the garden for a while. As he walks he thinks back to his conversation with lord Faramir. It was quite an interesting conversation he had. He learned what is done differently here in the south in comparison to the north. He knows that he will most certainly not have learned everything that is different. But what he did is a start.

At the same time, he is also certain that he will be able to talk to Aragorn about it. Especially, once he learns more differences. Halbarad is certain that it will all be more educational for him then it will be for Aragorn when they talk but it will not stop him. Aragorn has spent quite some time here in the past and as such he will already know how things are done here. So long as there have not been too many changes. Which he hopes there are simply to see Aragorn act similarly than he just did. Something which he knows he will enjoy should it happen. To the immense displeasure of Aragorn. It does not mean that it will stop him.

Halbarad calms down when he thinks about the results of the conversation with lord Faramir. He is quite pleased that he managed to take some worries from him. Even though he acted no different than he would have done if it were his son who has worries.

Halbarad decided to address the lord when he saw him on the bastion. He remembered what Aragorn has asked him to do when he noticed that lord Faramir was worrying about something. At the same time, his fatherly instincts acted up which increased his desire to aid. Luckily, lord Faramir listened and accepted his advice when he gave it during their conversation. Or at least lord Faramir did not publicly fight him on his given advice. A thing which Halbarad believes to be another thing that is done differently. It is not done to cause a scene in public of it has no purpose. As for his offer, Halbarad only made it because of how lord Faramir showed him that he accepted his advice. It gave him the impression that his offer might be appreciated. It is his hope that lord a Faramir will take him on his offer.

With a sigh, he turns around and decides that it is time for him to seek out his brothers-in-arms. He needs to know what the men need so that he can see that they get it. With little else to do, he decides to make the most of the opportunity to spend undivided time with them. Or as undivided as is possible. That way he will learn what they need without having to ask them.

As Halbarad walks back to the houses, he sees the warden walking in his direction. He wonders what the warden is doing in the garden. Does he need to talk to a patient? Does a patient need to return to their room to rest and has he come to fetch said patient? Or does he want to spend some time in the garden to find his calm again? Whatever it is, Halbarad hopes that he will be left in peace. Unfortunately, it is not meant to be.

“Lord Halbarad, good morning. I need to talk to you.”

Halbarad finds it refreshing to be addressed so directly. He has gotten the impression that it is not something which is normally done with noblemen here in Gondor. When he looks up at the warden, he notices that he has an annoyed look on his face. He wonders what that is about. With that, he means both the annoyed look and the need to talk.

“Good morning, master warden. What do we need to talk about?”

Halbarad does all he can to keep the amusement out of his voice. He wants to give of a neutral expression and not an amused one.

“It is not so much talking, lord, as it is me needing to inform you about something.”

“What do you need to inform me about?”

Halbarad is confused why warden seems to be moving around the topic. After the initial direct addressing, he got a different impression of the warden. As such he frowns in the hope that it will prompt the warden to answer his question. As well as reinforcing his question.

“Lord Húrin and the master archivist expressed a desire to talk to you, lord. They send me to ask if you could meet with them soon.”

Halbarad frowns for he does know any reason why an archivist would need to talk to him of all people. He expects that that there are others who are more interesting to talk to for an archivist than him. Also, what reason does lord Húrin have that they need to talk? Halbarad has absolutely no idea. Furthermore, he does not even know a lord Húrin. As such he also does not know what duties this lord has and what position he holds. Halbarad considers all this and comes to the conclusion that the warden might have the answers he seeks. It means he has to ask these questions if he wants answers to them. He is aware that the warden might not answer them. Well, at least it will not hurt to ask.

“Who is lord Húrin, master warden?”

“Lord Húrin is the keeper of the key and acting steward with lord Faramir being here in the houses.”

Well, that gives him an idea as to what lord Húrin has for duties. But it still does not explain why they need to talk. Only if it concerns Aragorn might it explain the need to talk. Still, considering that Aragorn’s claim has not been recognized, it does not strike him as the logical reason. Halbarad assumes that there is a reason for the need which he does not know about. Well, Halbarad decides to also ask about this simply to see if the warden knows about it. Last time it helped him really well.

“Do you perhaps know the reason why they need to talk to me?”

“No lord Halbarad, I do not know. They only said that they needed to talk to you. They did not tell me why or about what.”

“Alright then, I was worth asking. Might I ask you to guide me to where they intend to meet with me? I assume they told you where they would like to meet with me. I am afraid I do not know my way around the houses much. Except for getting to my room and the garden.”

“Of course, lord. I totally understand. They did indeed tell me where they would like to meet with you. Please follow me.”

Halbarad sees the warden smile at him. He nods as an answer and then they leave the garden to where his meeting will take place. 


	9. Chapter 9

A while later, Halbarad waits for the warden to finish his discussion with the guards. The guards stand at the bottom of the ramp they currently stand in front of. He has the impression that the ramp leads up to the seventh level of the city. One reason for this impression is that the ramp angles upward at a comfortable angle. Well, comfortable for as far as he can tell from observing. The other reason is that they are currently on the sixth level. This he learned from observing the city earlier when he stood at the bastion with lord Faramir.

It gives him the impression that the meeting lord Húrin and the master archivist have in mind is an important one. From what he knows the seventh level is from where the city and Gondor are ruled. It still makes him wonder about the reason for the meeting. The apparent location limits the possible reasons. Still, it does not give him the answer he seeks. Halbarad prefers to walk into a meeting prepared. Unprepared, he can be taken unaware. A thing he does not like based on his past experiences.

While waiting for the warden and the guards to finish their discussion, Halbarad thinks back to how they got here. He followed the warden as he was guided through the houses. It did not take them long to walk out of the houses and unto the streets of the sixth level. As the warden walked away from the houses Halbarad followed behind him feeling confused. He did not really understand why they would need to leave the houses. He had the impression that his meeting would take place inside of the houses. Well, if his meeting will take place outside the houses of healing it might explain why the warden was so irritated when he sought him out. The warden knows that he needs to rest before he should walk long distances. Halbarad knows that it would be difficult to refuse lord Húrin when he himself accepted to have the meeting soon.

They continued to walk until they reached a ramp. Halbarad was quite pleased with the pace the warden kept up. It was slow enough that he could easily keep up. But fast enough that no one would notice that he is not in his full health. At this time he can feel how exhausted he is. Even though they walked slowly. It makes him fear for how exhausted he will be once he walks back to the houses at the end of the meeting. Well, it will mean that he will sleep tight tonight. Halbarad does know that his exhaustion is not really surprising. He has not walked a lot from the time of his wounding until this morning. As such he is not in such good shape that he can walk around a lot. Hence their slow pace while walking to where they are now.

Just then Halbarad hears the guards move. Or more precisely he hears the movement of their armor. As he looks at the guards he sees that their spear are now in an upright position where before they were crossed. They no longer block the way up the ramp now. It is a sure sign that they can move up to the seventh level which they do.

A few minutes later, Halbarad enters the court of the fountain behind the warden. He sees a white square where people are hurrying around doing their duties. Near a large tower, he sees a fountain. Around the fountains for guards stand. They wear all the same uniform as the men at the bottom of the ramp. The difference between the men is that these are wearing a black cloak, helmet with feathers on top of it and a black cloth covering their face. The only thing he can see is their eyes. Around the square are multiple buildings. It all impresses Halbarad a lot. Especially, the white tree. That the tree is dead does not make it any less impressive. It is something which he has always wanted to see ever since Aragorn came back from his traveling.

“An impressive sight, is it not? The white tree I mean.”

Halbarad looks to his right side where he sees the warden standing. He can see that the warden is looking effectively at the tree. An expression Halbarad can understand for he knows that the tree holds a special place in the hearts of Gondorians. The look to the tree to see how their kingdom will develop in the years to come. Or at least that is what Aragorn has told him. As for the warden’s statement, he has to agree with it. It is an impressive sight and that is also what he decides to tell the warden.

“Yes, master Neston, it is an impressive sight. I have longed to see the tree for years.”

The warden smiles at him before mentioning for him to follow him. Halbarad is surprised that he was not asked what he meant with wanting to see the tree for years. He truly imagined that the warden would ask him about it. He has gotten to know the warden as inquiring and wanting to know what he can about his patients. That he does not is confusing for him. Still, Halbarad will not question the warden about it nor explain what he meant so long as he is not asked to do so. When Halbarad looks to see where they are going he sees that he is being guided to one of the buildings he saw earlier.

A few minutes later, they are walking past numerous doors. All of which are either closed or where people move between. It gives him the impression that they just walked passed multiple offices. Halbarad sees that the warden guides him to a door in the back of the building. Especially, considering the fact that the way they are going is in the direction of the back of the building. It makes him wonder why a meeting would be taking place in such a remote part of the building. Do they not want to be overheard or do they want to hide something? Whatever it is, Halbarad is certain that he will learn the reasons soon. For both the location of the room as well as for the meeting.

The further they get to the back of the building the less Halbarad sees people moving around. At one point they do not encounter anyone anymore. It tells him that they have entered an unused part of the building. It will also mean that the offices that are here will be unused. At least he believes that here are the unused offices for that is what they walked passed earlier. If there are no offices here then it would also be confusing why he would have a meeting here. That in this area there might be storage rooms would not surprise him at all. That would make sense in his opinion.

A short while after entering the unused part of the building does the warden stop before a door and he knocks on it. This tells Halbarad that they have reached the room where his meeting will take place. He is quite relieved for he does not know if he would be able to walk any further. Seconds later, they are answered by a voice coming from the other side if the door.

“Enter.”

The voice that allows them entry seems to belong to an elderly man. At least the voice sounds similar to that of an elderly man he met before. It gives him the impression that he will be meeting with an elderly man. Well at least one elderly man, maybe two. But what the case will be he will discover once they are into the room.

When the warden opens the door and steps inside the room, Halbarad is quick to follow him. He would like to sit down as soon as possible for he is quite exhausted from their trip here. Inside the room stands a desk with three chairs and several bookshelves filled with books and scrolls. The bookshelves are so filled that Halbarad does not believe it possible to add more. In fact, he fears what might happen if a book or scroll is taken out of it. He suspects that things might fall out of the shelves then. From their appearance, the books and scrolls are old. All this adds another mystery to the reason why this meeting takes place here of all places. Then he does not even start with the actual reason for this meeting. He notices that silence has fallen over the room. To break it Halbarad decides to greet the men.

“Good afternoon, lord Hírin, master archivist.”

He decided not to introduce himself to see if it pressures them to introduce themselves. It turns out that it does nur while at the same time one of the men talks to him. This man is an elderly dressed in fine clothing while the other is younger and wears plain clothing. It would not surprise him when the elder is the two is lord Húrin and the other the master archivist.

“Good morning, lord Halbarad. Please sit down. It is clear to see that you are tired of walking. I apologize to bother you right now with this meeting. I assume that you would like to know the reason why we requested this meeting to take place right now.”

Halbarad did not know that his exhaustion was so visible. He had hoped that he managed to hide it better than he obviously did. Still, the men are right to assume that he wants to know why they requested that this meeting takes place now. He would like to know why it could not have waited for a few days. Then everyone would have had time to prepare and be would have been in better health than he is right now. Also, they do not really bother him with this request as he does not have duties to attend to.

“It is no bother, lord. You are right that I would like to know why we have this meeting right now.”

Halbarad hopes that he will receive an answer soon. As he also wants to know what the men think he keeps a close eye on their face. He does this in a way that signals interest but not scrutiny. As such he sees how the elder of the two wants to answer his question. Unfortunately, he is unable to do so as he is interrupted by the warden.

“If you no longer need me then I will return to the houses. There is enough work to be done. Lord Húrin, once you are done sent someone with lord Halbarad back to the houses. I do not want him to learn that walked around on his own.”

Irritating is clearly visible in the warden’s voice when he speaks. Also, it is just something for the warden to give orders to a lord. At least in Halbarad’s opinion. The expression by the men reinforces his opinion. They are looking amused at the warden who continues to stare strictly at them. Additionally, the warden's words confirm his opinion about the man's identity. As in the elder being lord Húrin and the other the chief archivist.

“I will look into it, master warden. Do not worry, lord Halbarad will be escorted once we are finished here. I will personally arrange an escort for the lord if that satisfies you.”

Halbarad is not surprised that it is lord Húrin who answers the warden. This stems from the fact that as a lord he is here to do the talking. The archivist is here to write down everything that needs to be documented. He will also supply the lord with the information he needs. From the lord’s words, it is clear that he tries to pacify the warden or at least ensure that he will not worry.

“That does indeed satisfy me.”

This reaction from the warden makes it is clear that lord Húrin succeeded in his objective. When Halbarad looks back at the warden he sees him nodding in goodbye. Seconds later the warden is gone and he is alone with the men in the room. He sees lord Húrin mentioning once more to the chair before the desk. Only then does he realize that he did not sit down earlier when the chair was offered to him. Halbarad is quick to sit down now all the while trying to keep his expression neutral. He does not like to be caught off guard again. Especially considering who he is meeting with. He wants to avoid a repeat of before.

“Let us get back to the topic we were about to discuss before we were interrupted.”

“Of course.”

“I asked for this meeting to take place right now because it is a time-sensitive topic I want to discuss with you, lord Halbarad. My lord steward needs to make a decision based on the information from this meeting as soon as he is released from the houses.”

Halbarad nods in understanding. He intrigued by the lord’s words for what could they have to discuss that is time sensitive. At the same time, he begins to have a suspicion about a possible reason for this meeting. That is that lord Húrin wants to know about his cousin. Halbarad finds it strange if that is the reason for he does not know any reason for it being a time sensitive matter. Still, Halbarad is certain that lord Húrin will be in for a surprise if that is the reason. He will not share everything he knows about Aragorn with him. Some things are for Aragorn to share and not for anyone else. If he is asked about those matters then he will only say as much as he can without overstepping his bonds. Halbarad looks attentively at lord Húrin in an attempt to press him to continue for the lord has stopped talking. Lord Húrin is quick to continue once he sees his look.

“My lord steward needs to make a decision concerning lord Aragorn’s claim. For that, he needs to have information about lord Aragorn’s lineage. That way the lord steward will know if the claim is rightful and will be able to decide if he will accept it. Not that I think he will not if lord Aragorn's claim is rightful. Also, in case it is then I want to keep the master of protocol from seeking you out. He will then want to know things about lord Aragorn’s personal life. To precede this I will be asking you these questions. I promise you that I will not pry as much as the master of protocol will.”

Well, that confirms his suspicion about the reason. The questions about Aragorn’s lineage are understandable. Even though the reason confuses him for he did not know that Aragorn made a claim to the throne. If he had then Halbarad is certain that he would have been told about it. In that case, Halbarad would have had his own preparations to make. It confuses him for he was in the understanding that Aragorn would only make a claim after the war has been won. As for the questions about Aragorn’s personal life, those are ones which he will not answer completely. Some will be revealed in time and others are for Aragorn himself to explain completely. And only for him. Considering all this Halbarad decides to see if the warden is willing to lift his confusion.

“Lord Húrin before I answer your questions I would like to know a few things first. Firstly, why you are investigating Aragorn’s claim? I did not know he made one. He would have told me had he done so. Secondly, why do you want to ask me about it? Would it be better to wait until Aragorn returns so that he can explain everything to you and lord Faramir? And lastly, why would the master of protocol seek me out if Aragorn’s claim is rightful? What information do I have that he would need in that case?”

Halbarad purposely lets his confusion show on his face and hear in his voice. This way he hopes and actually expects to get the answers from lord Húrin soon.

“To answer your first question, lord Halbarad, you are right that lord Aragorn did not make a claim. But as I have come to understand he will make one as soon as the war is won. I investigate his claim now because once the claim might be made our lord steward will have more than enough work to do. By providing him at this time with the information he needs to judge the claim we ensure that he can make a thoughtful and thorough decision.”

Halbarad nods. He finds this a good reason to investigate it now. He can imagine the amount of work lord Faramir will have once he is released from the houses. Especially, if he thinks back to the destruction he saw when he came here. It was profound on the lower levels. Especially, the first level. So far as he could see it is nearly completely destroyed. Of one thing Halbarad is certain, he did not see everything. Also, that Aragorn might make a claim at the end of the war is a certainty. Of that Halbarad is certain. As such he decides to tell lord Húrin and the master archivist.

“You have a point there. I do now that Aragorn will make a claim at the end of the war. Also, I could see the destruction when I came here. As such I can see the wisdom in preemptively investigating Aragorn’s claim.”

“Thank you for your understanding our reasoning to investigate now. As to why we decided to ask you about lord Aragorn that is because we know that you are his steward in the north as well as his cousin. As such we are certain that you know him well. That is why we are certain that you can answer every question to the best of your abilities. As for not waiting for lord Aragorn’s return, it has the same reason as to why we investigate the claim right now.”

Halbarad is pleased that they are aware that he might not answer everything completely. It will make those times much more comfortable when they arrive. Also, he can tell that they want to ask him more. Thankfully, they refrain from dining so for he would like to get back to his room as soon as possible. Not that he will let them know for they would be rude to do. He does not know if their refusal to question is because they expect this meeting to take quite some time and want to avoid having it drag longer than is necessary. Or if they do not dare to ask him. Most likely he will never learn it.

“To your third question about the master of protocol seeking you out, that is because he will want to know about any kin lord Aragorn has. He will be especially interested in the matter of heirs. Those questions are what I want to spare you from. Knowing him he will not accept it when you refuse to answer his questions completely. He will press you to answer until he is satisfied. Questions about Arnor’s nobility will come later but I do not expect any problems with those. Still, I do not know when he might approach you about them. When I learn it I will inform you, if you accept my offer.”

Halbarad can see how the master archivist looks away as lord Húrin tells him this. It gives the impression that the master of protocol is quite annoying. Most likely to plenty of people if the reaction of the master archivist is anything to go by. It would not surprise him for Halbarad is used to it being the case in these circumstances. He is pleased that lord Húrin wants to spare him from the questioning about Aragorn by the master of protocol. He is aware that would lord Húrin not ask these questions himself then the meeting with the master of protocol would not be a nice one. He would most likely have become frustrated with the master and shown him out of his room or send him away. Unfortunately, he knows himself well enough that he would have done it by using quite some angry words. Words coming from his frustration with the master. Also, he knows that he might curse in such a situation. Something Aragorn and his wife try to break him from. It is all the things he knows that would not help him in such a situation. They could possibly give him a bad reputation. A kind of reputation he does not want to have. Also, it might have an impact on Aragorn’s ascending of the throne. Something which he does not want to make more difficult than he imagined it will be. For as far as the offer lord Húring made that is something which Halbarad will happily accept. It will give him time to prepare.

“I accept your offer, lord Húrin.”

“Then let us return to the matter at hand. Could you tell me what lord Aragorn’s lineage looks like? How is he related to the kings of Gondor and Arnor?”

Halbarad smiles because he knows that all of his men could answer this question. A lore keeper would be the best at answering it. But he knows that every Dúnedain knows their lord’s lineage well enough to be able to provide lord Húrin with the answers he wants. They all can confirm that Aragorn is the rightful heir to the throne. Something which he imagines is more important than what Aragorn’s lineage looks like. On that, the decision will be made if Aragorn can ascend the throne.

Halbarad considers how best to answer lord Húrin. Will he simply explain Aragorn’s lineage or will he mention that his men can also answer the question. In that case, he will also have to explain that the lore keepers know the lineage better than he can. In the end, he decides to go with the last possibility. That way lord Húrin and in turn lord Faramir will know a bit about the Dúnedain of the north.

“That is a question you could have asked any of the Dúnedain who came with me and Aragorn. We all know our chieftain’s lineage by heart. Where we at home I would have asked one of our lore keepers to join us. They can explain it to you better than I will be able to. Still, I will do my best to explain it to you.”

“Of course, lord Halbarad. I never assumed that you would be able to explain to me about the entire lineage of lord Aragorn. Only about the parts that are important, I assumed you have knowledge. As such I ask you only to do your best.”

“Of course, thank you for your understanding, lord Húrin. Aragorn is a descendant from Elendil through his eldest son Isildur. Valandil, Isildur’s youngest is who founded Aragorn’s line. From there on he is a descendant through the firstborn male line. Thus he is by the right king of Arnor. A title he nor any of his ancestors have claimed since Arvedui’s death. As for being the heir to Gondor’s throne, this stems from the fact that Arvedui married Fíriel daughter of Ondoher, king of Gondor. For as far as I am aware inheritance is possible through the female line if there is no male alive.”

“You are right, lord Halbarad. If there are no heirs through the male line then a male from the female line will become the heir. Which is currently the case with lord Aragorn’s claim to the throne. It means that he has the strongest claim to the throne since there are no descendants of the other kings alive that we know of. I do mean the descendants who have such a strong claim to the throne as your lord has. We both know that it will not mean anything. Steward Faramir can still deny it. But if lord Aragorn is victorious in his current quest against Mordor then I know that it will be difficult to deny him.”

“I am aware of that. You should know that Aragorn has no interest in a civil war and as such will not push lord Faramir to accept his claim should he consider denying it.”

Halbarad knows that he has eased some of lord Húrin’s worry based on the relieved expression he briefly saw in the warden’s face. It was quickly covered by the professional expression lord Húrin has been wearing since the beginning of this meeting. He knows that after all the fighting of this year Gondor cannot handle a civil war. It would tear the kingdom apart. A feat no one wants to see. Which is why he decided to ease any worries that might arise.

“That is good to know.”

Silence falls over the room after lord Húrin’s words only interrupted by the writing of the chief archivist. Halbarad feels for him because he knows that the chief archivist is not conducting duty he normally has. Normally a scribe would note everything and not the chief archivist. Considering the importance of this meeting, he imagines that they do not want to face the potential risk of the scribe talking about this meeting. Which would explain why the chief archivist is the one to take notes now.

Halbarad can see how lord Húrin is thinking about something. Which he believes to be the next question he will be asked. Lord Húrin is most likely considering how best to ask it for he believes it to be one of those the master of protocol might seek him out for. As such the praising will be important because sensitive questions need to be asked carefully or else you will not get a lot of information. In fact, the person who is asked will most likely close down. That Halbarad knows from the lessons he received from his father and the elders. As well as what he learned through experience.

“Lord Halbarad, might I ask where lord Aragorn’s wife and children are?”

Halbarad is amused by this question for he finds it interesting to know that they are assuming that Aragorn is married and a father while he is not. Or at least, he knows that and they do not. Also, he could see a few couples in the city during the past few days and they were all young. Young if he takes into account how the Dúnedain age. As such their assumption is not really surprising. At that time, he also noted that there are not a lot of women in the city. It can only mean that they have been evacuated before the city was besieged and as of yet have not returned.

But back to the question, he was asked. He knows that he will have to tell lord Húrin that Aragorn is not married. What he can tell is that Aragorn is engaged. He will refuse to tell them that Aragorn is betrothed to Arwen Elrondiel. That is not for him but for his cousin to announce. He actually does not like to talk much about it. It feels for him as if he were to spill secrets. Still, he will have to tell something if only to tranquilize the men and also the master of protocol when he is told. He takes a deep breath before he decides to explain to lord Húrin what he can.

“Aragorn is unmarried and as such without children. What I can tell you is that he is engaged to a beautiful lady. If everything goes well then he will marry soon”

He intentionally refrained from mentioning that Aragorn has been engaged for quite some years. Halbarad sees that the chief archivist is confused by his answer. As well as lord Húrin. As such he already has an idea what he might be asked now. Lord Húrin does not disappoint when he receives the question but a short while later.

“Might I ask how old lord Aragorn is?”

“He is 87 now. By the first of March, he will be 88.”

“Then he will be old when he marries. But considering that the previous kings all had a long lifespan it does not mean a lot.”

This Halbarad knows it is true for the kings of Arnor. But as for the kings of Gondor, he does not know it at all. For that, he will accept the words from the master archivist. Apparently, lord Húrin does the same based on his reaction.

“That is reassuring, master archivist. You are more knowledgeable about these matters than I am. So I will leave it at this. What I do know is there will be people around who will pressure lord Aragorn to beget children soon.”

Halbarad smiles to himself. Those people will be in for a surprise in that case. Aragorn can be really stubborn about such matters. He will not let them dictate his life. He will do as he likes. They can protest all they want but will not sway Aragorn from his own opinion. Of that Halbarad is certain. His certainty comes from experience.

Then he notices that one question, which he expected to be asked after he gave his answer, has not yet been asked. This question is about Aragorn’s betrothed identity. It surprises him that they have not asked Arwen yet. Maybe they have silently decided not to pry for more than what he is willing to share. Unfortunately, it turns out that only lord Húrin thought this way for the master archivist asks the question with an inquiring look.

“Might I ask who lord Aragorn’s betrothed is?”

The look lord Húrin instantly gives the master archivist tells Halbarad enough. He was not supposed to ask this question. Halbarad believes that once they are alone the master archivist will be severely reprimanded. This question is one that might have been asked by the master of protocol. So why the master archivist asks it, Halbarad has no idea. The same counts for lord Húrin based on his confused look at the guilty look from the master archivist.

Soon afterward, lord Húrin looks searchingly at him. Most likely to determine if he will answer or not. And if he will answer then to determine how much will be explained to them. Halbarad is under no illusion that lord Húrin believes that they will get a full explanation. At the same time, the look also tells him that he is not required to answer. This he finds conforming as it shows that lord Húrin understands his conflicting feelings. Lord Húrin is willing to accommodate his eventual decision. Halbarad smiles in understanding to lord Húrin. He gets an acknowledging not after which he answers the question from the master archivist. Well, answering in such a way that he will not give away to much.

“What you must know is that I will not give you her name. That is something for Aragorn or for herself to do. But what I can tell you is that she is a kind lady who cares for the people she is responsible for. She is wise, steadfast and caring to her loved ones. This caring shows in how she will not let one harm themselves by being stubborn longer than she deems acceptable. Which rarely lasts for more than a few hours. At that time she forces them to undergo treatment. The lady is also of exceptional beauty such as we have not seen in centuries. This is all I can tell you. You will learn more once you meet the lady herself.”

Halbarad can see how his words confuse the men as well as intrigue them. He can see the questions in their eyes. They want to ask him more. But as he said that he will not explain more they will have to leave it to this. If not then they will only get disappointing answers from him. Lord Húrin seems to be kept occupied by one question. That Halbarad can see in the lord’s expression. It is one of deep recollection and consideration. It makes the question all the more intriguing. It has him wondering what the question is about. He does not have to wait long to learn what question occupied lord Húrin’s mind.

“She is a lady of Arnor, am I right?”

The questioning and searching look inform him that this is something lord Húrin has assumed. Now he wants to have a confirmation. It makes Halbarad wonder what kind of image the men have built of Arwen. Hopefully, their image will not be too much different from the truth. The truth which few men currently in Gondor know.

“Yes, lord Húrin. She is a lady of Eriador.”

This question is understandable so Halbarad has no problem answering it. There is only a difference in the question asked and the answer he gave. If lord Húrin noticed it or not, Halbarad does not know. He got no signs from lord Húrin that he noticed it. But then he could have noticed it but decided to not remark upon it. As such Halbarad does not know if it was noticed.

Looking back at the lord, Halbarad sees how there is still a question in his eyes. It confuses him for the thought the last one was the only question on lord Húrin’s mind. So for there to still be one is confusing. He hopes that he soon will know what is on the lord’s mind and that is able to answer the question. Answering it without overstepping his bounds. Luckily, he does not have to long to learn what it is. Just like last time.

“Lord Halbarad, might I ask you some questions pretending your stewardship of Arnor?”

“Of course, you may ask about it.”

Halbarad has a suspicion what this is about. Namely, determining the future of the stewardship of Gondor. Specifically, that of lord Faramir for he is the current steward of Gondor. Ruling steward if he wants to be precise. Halbarad appreciates it that lord Húrin cares so much for lord Faramir that he intends to inquire about his future. He is aware that there are most likely reasons for the coming questions he does not know for this. Most likely, he will never learn them. He knows that he can live with not knowing it. It is not something which is really important for him to know. He turns back to lord Húrin and looks at him expectedly in an attempt to get him to ask his questions.

“What are your duties, lord Halbarad? Both when your lord is present and when he is not.”

“Well, my duties for when Aragorn is present are those of an advisor, aid and a confidant. I aid him in his duties and relieve him of some village inspections. If one of use is not there then the other has to inspect all the villages. When Aragorn is not present then I rule in his stead. I write reports on what I have done so that my cousin can review them when he returns. It also serves as a way for Aragorn to be informed about everything that has happened in his absence. Those are my duties in the north in addition to fighting and patrolling with the other men. As we do not have a large population of Dúnedain more duties are not necessary. With the other men living g in the north we have little contact. Both because we prefer to keep to ourselves and because they are highly suspicious of us.”

Halbarad hopes that with this he has informed lord Húrin sufficiently about his duties. If not, then he expects to receive questions pretending that which is not sufficiently explained. Even though he hopes to not get them. He looks at lord Húrin to see if he can discover anything that would tell him what he can expect now.

One thing he does expect is a question of how he gained stewardship. He knows that it will tell them if Aragorn would be willing to let the position be hereditary. That will tell them what the chances are that Faramir will be allowed to hold his position and title.

Halbarad does not know what’s Aragorn’s decision will be as he does not know lord Faramir well enough. If he did then he would be able to predict his cousin’s decision concerning lord Faramir’s stewardship. But there is one thing he does know. That is that Aragorn’s decisions will depend on a few matters. Two of them are how much he cares for the people and how the people care for him. The first Halbarad believes is true in Faramir’s case for as far as he could determine already. If the second is true Halbarad does not know. Only time will tell for he will have to be able to observe the people on their interaction with lord Faramir. The third is how well he is at his duty. Or in lord Faramir’s case, how much potential he shows. Halbarad is aware that Faramir needs to learn how to handle it as he is new to these duties. No matter the training that is always the case. Because of all this, he is unable to predict the decision that might be made.

“Lord Halbarad, how did you gain your stewardship?”

Well, there is the question he saw coming earlier. If it continues like this then he might be able to predict how this meeting will continue. He smiles amused before sobering up and answering.

“I gained stewardship after my father sudden death. As my father’s death was unexpected there was no one appointed as the next steward. As such the elders made a decision after they finished their council. They informed me that they had decided that I should act as interim steward until Aragorn returned. They believed that it would best were I to act as steward until our lord could officially appoint me or someone else. Their words made it clear that they believed that I would get the position. As you can tell they turned out to be right.”

Halbarad receives a nod from lord Húrin in answer. He sees how the lord considers the information he just gave. It results in a few moments of silence before another question is asked.

“Am I right to assume that your ancestors have always been the steward of Arnor? They only needed to be confirmed by your lord?”

“No, lord Húrin. Only I have held the position in some sort of hereditary way. My father was appointed as steward by lord Arathorn. My father and lord Arathron were friends. That is why he was appointed as the steward of Arnor. The steward of Arnor has always been a friend of the chieftain. The chieftains only ever appointed their friends as their steward.”

Lord Húrin hums in response. Halbarad can see how he processes this latest information. He knows that lord Húrin has to align his belief with what he just said. If Halbarad is honest then he can understand the concern that comes across lord Húrin’s face. He must fear that lord Faramir might be removed from his office by the king and a stranger might be appointed. Well, stranger? Definitely, someone from Gondor as otherwise the steward will not be accepted by the public. As Halbarad wants to know if his belief is true, he decides to ask lord Húrin.

“What are you worried about, lord Húrin?”

“I am worried what the information you gave me might mean for Faramir’s future. I fear that there is a chance that he might be removed from his position of steward. Something which many people, including lords, do not want to see happening. We all care deeply for Faramir.”

Halbarad nods to show that he understands what was just said. He is certain there is something which lord Húrin is not saying. But as for what it is, Halbarad does not know. He does not know the people long and well enough to tell. Not that he believes that he will learn it anytime soon. It will take quite some time observing the people to learn a bit about what he just was told.

During this time silence falls over the room once more. Halbarad lets the silence last for a while. That time he uses to determine what will be the best response he can and should give. To do that he first needs to determine what lord Húrin wants to have an answer to. Else determining his response will have no use.

To know what lord Húrin wants an answer to he decides to go over what he was just told. Lord Húrin said that he fears for lord Faramir’s future and that a lot of people care deeply for him. It would appear as if lord Húrin wants to know if he has any idea what Aragorn might do. Unfortunately, Halbarad is aware of the fact that he cannot give lord Húrin a definite answer. He simply does not know lord Faramir well enough to do so. What he might be able to do is tell them on what Aragorn makes his decision. That might just reassure them. They can determine then, based on what they know of lord Faramir, what Aragorn’s decision will be. As he believes that it is the best option he has, Halbarad explains what Aragorn makes his decisions. After warning lord Húrin that he will not get a definite answer that is.

“Know that I cannot give you a definite answer. I do not know lord Faramir well enough to be able to predict my lord’s decision. What I can tell you is on what Aragorn bases his decisions.”

“Of course, lord Halbarad. I will be pleased with anything you can give me. As I said before, I do not expect a complete answer from you. I know that you cannot give me that.”

“Thank you once again for your understanding. I know that Aragorn will base his decision on a few matters. The first is how well the people care for lord Faramir. As well as how much lord Faramir cares for the people. These are important for him as he expects a lord to handle in his people’s best interest. Which is only possible of both care for each other. He is aware that the people will not always agree with a lord’s decision so how much they care for their lord might vary. As such he will base the people’s care for their lord on all the years the people know the lord. Lastly, he will determine how well a lord does his duty. In lord Faramir’s case, it will be his potential. He knows as well as I do that lord Faramir first needs to get used to his duties before it is possible to determine how well he is at it. No matter the training one always has to get used to new duties.”

“That is certainly true, lord Halbarad.”

Halbarad saw how lord Húrin took notes of his explanation and nodded along with it as he gave it. He is certain that his explanation will be carefully reviewed once the meeting is over. He waits for a few minutes to let it be absorbed. Then he decides to tell lord Húrin what he believes Aragorn’s decision will be.

“Lord Húrin, it is my belief that Aragorn will keep Lord Faramir around as Gondor’s steward. I base this belief on what I have seen so far from your lord during our interactions in the houses of healing.”

“That I am glad to hear. Now we only need to hope that you can predict your lord’s decision accurately.”

He sees how lord Húrin and the master archivist smile at his words. It tells him that they are pleased by his belief. What lord Húrin told him confirms it. Knowing Aragorn he will gather his information about lord Faramir from the lord that have traveled with him. Even though they are both aware that their answer will be affected by their opinion on lord Faramir. It means that they have to be careful to notice what is said between the lines. Shortly later, lord Húrin stops writing and turns his attention back to him.

“I am surprised by the depth of your knowledge, lord Halbarad. It shows clearly that you know your lord well. As well as that you are deep in his confidence. I admit that I did not anticipate it.”

“What did you anticipate then, lord Húrin?”

“I anticipated that you would know your lord, as well as any lord, would. Still, once I learned that you are his steward I should have expected that you would know him better than others. Even then I would not have expected such a depth of knowledge you showed.”

Halbarad smiles amused. It shows clearly that they underestimate his relationship with his cousin. Which is not really surprising for that happens often with those who are not of their people. He waits for the next question, he can see in lord Húrin’s eyes, to be asked.

“Would you perhaps know if lord Aragorn will ask for information about lord Faramir from the lord who traveled with him?”

“I assure you, lord Húrin, he will do that. At that time he will be aware that their words will be affected by their opinion of lord Faramir.”

Halbarad knows that he should have expected this question when lord Húrin started to question him concerning lord Faramir’s future. It is one he considered already before so answering it is not really difficult.

Again there falls silence of the room. He gets a few searching looks. They are different from those he got earlier. As such he believes that this look is aimed at getting him to ask questions. He gets his confirmation not long afterward.

“Is there something which you would like to know, lord Halbarad?”

“Not at this time. If I do have a question then I will seek you or lord Faramir at that time.”

Well, actually there are some matters which he would like to ask questions about. It is only so that he does not deem this the right time to ask them right now. He will ask them once the time is right and not before. Then he will ask either lord Faramir or Húrin to answer it. Lord Húrin’s look tells him that it is known or at least believed that he has questions. After some time lord Húrin seems to have made a decision for he addresses him.

“Of course, lord Halbarad. Either lord Faramir or I will answer them then. For now, I hope that you will have a good day.”

“You too, lord Húrin.”

Halbarad then stands up and after a quick nod of his head leaves the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Halbarad is just about to leave the building when a voice calling out to him stops him in his tracks.

“My lord Halbarad, please wait.”

He looks around and sees a young man running towards him. Well running? The boy is waking at a fast pace towards him. If he walks any faster then he will surely be running. The young man is dressed in a similar way as the other people he saw when the warden guided him to the meeting. This is why he believes the boy to be a servant of some sort. It still does not answer why he would be running towards him. Soon the boy reaches him and speaks to him.

“My lord Halbarad, I am glad that you have not left just yet. Lord Húrin would be so displeased with me then. He told me that he promised master Neston that you would not walk back to the houses of healing alone. He forgot to call for a servant before you left. But when he did remember he ordered me to guide you back. So I am glad that you have not yet left for then I would not be able to do as Lord Húrin asked me to.”

Halbarad feels for the boy since it is clear to him that he is out of breath. He did notice the relieved look he received from the boy when he met up with him. All this makes him determined to find someplace soon to sit down. It has the benefit of allowing the boy to rest as well as for himself to rest.

He is tired and does not know if he will make it to the houses of healing if he does not find a place to sit down. The meeting was exhausting for him. When he notices the worried look on the boy’s face. As such he knows that he needs to reassure him. And quickly before the boy calls for healers or other servants. Something which he wants to avoid if he can.

“Well then, young one, why do we not make our way to the houses of healing then? I would prefer to find a place to sit down for a bit though. I need to rest for a while if I am to make it to the houses of healing.”

“Of course, my lord. Let us go to the court of the fountain then. It is close by and has benches to offer for those who want to sit down there. It is normally a quiet place where you can rest in peace.”

At Halbarad’s nod, the boy quickly walks into the direction of the white tree. At the same time, he mentions him to follow him. Well, this means that they will be sitting near the white tree then. Halbarad does not mind so long as he can rest on a bench. He is just glad that the boy took his bait. It means that he does not have to find a way for him to rest. Also, it means that they can both rest for a while.

A few minutes later, they reach the court of the fountain. This time Halbarad is able to take a closer look at what he can see then what he could before. The guards are even more intimidating when he is in close proximity than when he looked at them from a distance.

They give off a clear presence. That is that no one should try anything. They will retaliate then. It makes it all the more obvious that this area is of high importance to the Gondorians. Just as he has learned during his lessons in his youth.

Looking around the court of the fountain, Halbarad is glad to see that there are indeed benches. It shows that the boy was right that they could sit down here. Not that he doubted the words of the boy much. Also, he cannot see anyone present here. It means that they will have a quiet and peaceful time to sit. Well, for so long not many people come here.

Halbarad sits down on one of the benches and looks to see where the boy is. He can see that the boy is looking around uncertainty. It is clear that he does not know what to do right now. Halbarad decides to wait for a short while to see if the boy will work his uncertainty out on his own. If not then he will help him. Luckily, the boy seems to have quickly made a decision for he addresses him.

“My lord Halbarad? How long do you want to sit here? I will then go help out in the stables in the meantime. I promise to be back in time.”

Halbarad smiles at the boy's words. They clearly show how much he wants to be appreciated. But if he leaves now then it will mean that he cannot sit down and rest. Something which Halbarad wants him to do. He considers what he can do to get the boy to sit down.

Either he asks him to simply sit down or maybe he can ask the boy to keep him company. If he does that then he will ask the bit to explain to him how he experienced the siege. A topic that will keep them occupied for a while. At least he knows that they will rest long enough then. The added benefit is that the boy will feel appreciated.

Halbarad is certain that the boy must have been present during the siege. Otherwise, he would not have been in the city right now. Halbarad nods to himself. This is the best option he has to gain his objective. Unfortunately, his nodding seems to confuse the boy since he looks at him questioningly.

He knows that he needs to reassure the boy if his plan is to work. The best way to attain this is by asking if the boy is willing to tell him how he experienced the siege. To be able to ask if he knows that he first needs to know if the boy is willing to answer his question. This is thus what he does in addition to telling the boy that he has not determined how long he wants to rest.

“I do not know how long I want to sit and rest here, young one. But I would like to ask you something, if I may?”

“Of course, my lord.”

Halbarad smiles. It is just the answer be has expected. Now he will be able to ask the important question.

“I would like to ask you to sit down next to me and tell me about your experiences during the siege.”

The boy looks confused at him but still nods. Then the boy sits down next to shyly. Halbarad wonders how much experience the boy has with lords. Not much if his current reaction is anything to go by. That does not mean that he is discouraged in his current objective. In fact, he is even more motivated to get the boy to rest.

It is then that he is reminded that he never learned the boy’s name. He knows that this is what he needs to learn first before anything else. He does not like to think of someone as simply a boy. He wants to think of them by their name. That is why he asks his next question.

“Might I ask you what your name is?”

“Of course, my lord. My name is Bergil son of Beregond.”

“Then Bergil, tell me how the siege was for you. For as far as you are willing to talk to me about it, that is.”

With that Bergil begins to explain how he experienced the siege. He explains how scared he was by all the fighting. Still, he trusted the men to protect them. If not then he said that he would meet the orcs fighting. He refused to even consider leaving the city, as he knows he would be told to do, for that would be cowardly in his opinion. He wants to be brave like his father.

It is then that Bergil tells Halbarad about his father’s situation. Halbarad can tell that there are things which he does not say. Bergil does not go into many details but gives enough that he knows what Beregond is facing. Still, he refuses to press Bergil. He knows from experience that it is futile to press a child into answering. They will only shut down then. The result then is their refusal to talk for quite some time about anything.

Then Bergil explains how everything was for him after the death of Steward Denethor. For him, it meant that he would act as a runner for the houses. Something which he at that time appreciated for it kept his mind from the battle. Even though he could see what the siege did to the men. As such he did not notice much from the siege.

After the siege, everything became hectic in the houses for they had too many patients to care for. Also, lord Faramir needed looking after. That lord Faramir was dying was frightening to him. But then lord Aragorn came and healed his lord. For that, he is Lord Aragorn eternally grateful. Bergil expressed then his hope that the host would be successful.

After that, it is clear that Bergil is done with his explanations. As such Halbarad stands up. It tells Bergil that he is ready to leave for he finds that he has rested long enough. Also, he can see that the sun is going down right now. He knows that he now needs to head down to the houses of healing.

When Halbarad looks back at Bergil he notices how Bergil looks at him questionably and also has stood up. He is certain that Bergil will ask him what is on his mind. This considering what he has learned about Bergil.

“Do you want to return to the houses now, my lord?”

“Yes, I think I have rested long enough now. Also, it is late enough that I do need to return to the houses of healing.”

“You are right about that, my lord. If you do not return soon then I am certain that the warden will come looking for you. Or he will send someone to find and return you to the houses. Please, do not take offense to it, my lord. The warden means well. He can simply be very forceful about his patients risking their recovery.”

“I know, Bergil. I have been exposed to it not long ago. Do not worry, young one. I will not take offense to it.”

After Bergil nods, they leave the court of the fountain. Halbarad expects them to walk back the same way as he came with the warden. He learns quickly that it is not the case. Bergil takes them to a secluded area of the seventh level. The area is in the same direction as where the houses of healing are.

Halbarad is surprised by this and sees how they walk in a deserted area. Well, deserted at this time. From what he can tell this area is used commonly. By whom he does not know but he suspects that servants use this area commonly. But that does not explain why Bergil would guide them here. There is nothing of importance here which would explain the heavy use of this area. Or so he thinks.

Soon he starts to see the roofs of the houses of healing coming up. Now Halbarad is truly confused. Is there a way to the houses in this area? It would be the only logical reason for Bergil to guide them here. But as to where the way is, Halbarad has no idea. He cannot see any doors or pathways leading to the sixth level.

Well, Halbarad knows that he will have to wait and see how they will get to the houses of healing. That is the only thing he can do right now. But what he can do right now is looking carefully around the area. Hopefully, he will be able to see any indication of where Bergil is guiding them to.

After a few minutes of walking, Halbarad does not see anything which would tell him why they are walking this way. There is nothing around here that would lead them to the houses of healing. No door or pathway. Unfortunately, the wall is too high for him to look over them. As such he is unable to look down to see if there is any pathway he is as of yet unable to see.

Suddenly, Bergil takes a turn to the right. Halbarad is surprised by this and nearly loses sight of Bergil. It would have been bad for them to get separated. He does not know the way around Minas Tirith yet. If all things go well then he is certain that he will learn his way around the city quickly.

Also, he would have appreciated a warning. Then he would have known to be on the lookout for this turn. Even if he got the warning late then it would have been fine for him. That is not something he would make a problem off. Bergil seems to understand that he should have given a warning. This since Bergil is looking guilty at him. Bergil’s words reinforce his expression.

“I am sorry, my lord. I forgot to tell you about this sudden turn.”

“Let it be a lesson for the future, Bergil. I would have appreciated a warning. That way I would have known to be on the lookout for this turn. Still, I am glad that you understand it also. That way you can learn from this small mistake.”

“Of course, my lord. I will learn from this. Shall we continue?”

“Of course.”

The relief on Bergil’s face after his words was clear to see. He must have been glad that he did not take a lot of offense to it. Not that it would be reasonable to do so. The mistake was but a small one with nearly no consequences. But Bergil’s reaction makes him wonder how the lords treat the servant here if this is the reaction a servant has when they make a small mistake.

But there might be another reason for this, namely that Bergil does not want to give him a bad impression of the servants who work here. In that case, it would also apply to the peasants who live here. It is as if he does not want to begin at the wrong end with him. This most likely since he is a lord and because they do not know each other well. Bergil will not know what he accepts and what not. As such he prefers to play it safe.

Halbarad considers all this while they follow the path they are currently on. Soon they come upon a door. He assumes this one will lead them to the houses of healing. He calmly follows Bergil eager to see what is behind the door. That is why he is surprised when Bergil stops a short while before the door and turns to him. His surprise does not last long as Bergil addresses him soon after.

“My lord, can you walk down the stairs on your own? Or do I need to aid you?”

Well, now he knows that the doors lead to some stairs. Stairs that go down to the sixth level, Halbarad assumes. He finds it admirable that Bergil asks him if he can walk downstairs on his own. It clearly shows that he learned from earlier. Halbarad does think that he can walk downstairs but still would like to have Bergil close. In case he discovers that he cannot do it once they are on the stairs. That he decides to inform Bergil about.

“I do believe I can do that, Bergil. Still, I would appreciate it were you to stay close to me. In case it becomes too much for me to reach the bottom on my own.”

“Of course, my lord. I will do so.”

Bergil’s reaction is an eager one. Then Bergil opens the door and they descend the stairs. Halbarad is glad that Bergil stays close to him as he promised. This since the steps are quite uneven from time to time. As such it is soon that he asks Bergil for help. He does not feel comfortable to walk down the stairs further on his own. He is thankful that they are alone. If one of the Dúnedain saw this then they would tease him about it for a long time. Unfortunately, his luck does not hold.

Once they reach the bottom of the stairs he can hear a person snickering. Halbarad looks around annoyed by the sound. He wonders who is so amused by this sight. Specifically, he wonders which of the Dúnedain is snickering. It does not take him long to see who it is. He sees Aphadon standing in the shadow. Of course, he would have to see this. Aphadon is the worst person to see him from all the Dúnedain.

“I am glad you see something amusing, Aphadon.”

“Of course, Halbarad. Imagine glad that you share my opinion. It is amusing that you need help descending the stairs. You have always been so good at denying aid that it is amusing to see you relying on it.”

Halbarad glares at Aphadon’s smirk which turns into a glaring match. Halbarad does not find it amusing at all. He needed the help for otherwise, he might have fallen down the stairs. That is not what he did not want to do. Hence why he asked Bergil for help.

As for denying aid in the past, then he always traveled on familiar paths so he knew where to walk. As such he never wanted help. He knew what he should do then. This time it was different. The steps were unfamiliar to him and that is why he asked for aid.

“My lord, shall I bring you to your chamber or shall I accompany you and lord Aphadon?”

Bergil question pulls him and Aphadon out of their glaring match. Silently, Halbarad thanks Bergil for this because their match could otherwise last a long time. Aphadon also calms down so he feels fine in letting Bergil return to the citadel. He thinks that Aphadon and he can get to the houses together. But before telling Bergil that he wants some clarification on the part of the question that confused him.

“I know you were told to guide me back to the houses of healing, Bergil, but I did not think you had to walk me back to my chamber.”

“That is what lord Húrin ordered me to do. Did I not tell you that?”

Halbarad has to smile at Bergil’s confused look. It is obvious that he did not notice that he forgot to mention something. At least now Bergil has said that which he has forgotten. But he still has to answer Bergil’s question which he does not long afterward.

“No, you did not tell me that Bergil.”

Bergil’s reaction is swift and also expected by Halbarad based on what he knows about Bergil.

“I am sorry, my lord. I truly thought I did tell you. But could you answer my question?”

Halbarad is annoyed that he forgot to answer the question which Bergil asked firstly. Well, he will have to do that right now. Bergil needs his answer so that everyone knows how to continue from here on.

“Of course, Bergil. If you need to walk me back or my room then you can accompany Aphadon and I. But otherwise, you can leave now. Aphadon will see that I get back to my room soon.”

As he says this Halbarad looks expectedly at Aphadon. He wants to tell him this way that he expects an answer from him. And soon. He hopes that Aphadon has gotten his message. Not that he has too many doubts. For all that Aphadon teases him and others, he does notice when the situation calls for seriousness. His teasing is mostly to lift the mood or it try and get the more out of a person. Something which he is very good at.

“Of course, young man. I will make sure that this one gets to his room. If you want I will also personally put him in his bed.”

Aphadon’s smirk irritates him even more. Especially, because it is accompanied by a slab on his shoulder. Halbarad does not like it at all. He did not want this reaction but a serious one. That is also why he irritatedly calls out to his friend while clenching his fists.

“Aphadon!”

“What?”

Aphadon’s innocent look does not deter him. He knows full well that he did not give the reaction that was expected. Unfortunately, Halbarad has no idea what he has to do with Aphadon right now. Scolding him will have no effect since it will only fuel Aphadon in his teasing. Ignoring Aphadon’s reaction will only fuel his irritation.

“My lord?”

“Yes, Bergil.”

He is glad that Bergil addressed him since it pulls him out of his irritated thoughts. This since he now has other things to focus on. Ignoring Aphadon completely might get his message across. Right now, Bergil’s decision is what he needs to focus on which he receives not long after his reaction to Bergil’s inquiry.

“I was told to guide you to your room. That is what I will do. Thus I will accompany you and lord Aphadon to your room. That way you can walk together and I will still follow my instructions.”

“Of course. I left the choice to you so I accept your decision. It is a good comprise, Bergil.”

Halbarad smiles as he says this for he finds it a really good decision. Bergil nods in return and then moves to be in front of them. That is when they continue to walk to the houses of healing. Halbarad calmly follows Bergil while Aphadon takes a short while to get moving. This he could tell from the sounds of his boots hurrying over the ground to them. Luckily with the way they came it does not take them long to reach the houses of healing.

Once they enter the house which holds the noble wing, Aphadon catches up to them. Now Halbarad deems it a good time to see if he can learn why Aphadon was outside at this time. Especially, when he notices that Aphadon has calmed down from his amusement. If he could call it that.

“Why were you outside, Aphadon?”

“Oh, I was looking for you, Halbarad. I must admit that you were difficult to find. I had to ask a lot of people to find out where you could be. The only thing I managed to learn is that you went to the garden in the morning and that later the warden talked to you.

That is why I decided to seek out the warden before searching in the garden. I ended up being disappointed. He did not tell me anything about where you were. As such, I decided to check the garden first. I hoped that I would find you there. If I had not found you when I did then I would have waited for you by your room. There you would have returned eventually.”

“That is true. I would have returned there. But I would have appreciated it were you to have ambushed me there than where you did. Why were you looking for me?”

Halbarad frowns. He does know why Aphadon would seek him out. For as far as he knows there is nothing they need to talk about urgently. He had hoped for a calm evening. Now he has to admit that he will not get it.

“Can I not see my friend out to spend some time with him?”

“You can but I know you, Aphadon. You do not seek your friends out this late for no good reason. So why did you seek me out.”

“Alright, alright. I wanted to discuss some of my worries with you.”

“That we can do in my room. I do not want to be overheard. I do want to discuss some of my own worries with you.”

Halbarad could clearly tell that there is more than just worries which Aphadon wants to talk about. He knows his friend well enough to tell that from his posture and words.

“Of course. I agree with you that we discuss everything in your room. It would be for the best to not be overheard.”

Halbarad can see the relief on Aphadon’s face. He has an idea as to what his friend is relieved about. Also, it confirms his earlier observation. Aphadon wants to talk about something which is best to be done in private. Or at least somewhere where the chances of being overheard are slim.

The remainder of the way to Halbarad’s room they spend on discussing the other men who stayed in the houses of healing. They discuss their recovery and their mental state. Halbarad is pleased to learn that all are well on their way to recovery. He learns that most are nearly well enough to leave the houses. They only need to stay for a few more days. It means that he needs to find out where they will receive housing. Though he knows that the men will not mind if they have to leave the city and build a camp on the field. They are used to living in the wild or in small villages.

Once they reach his room, Bergil walks with them into the room. There he stands to look a bit lost. To the amusement of Halbarad and Aphadon. But after a short while, they see how Bergil takes a deep breath before addressing them.

“My lords, I will leave you here. I hope you have a good evening. If you need anything then please call one of the healers that are around.”

“Of course, Bergil. I hope you too have a good evening.”

Bergil bows to them and then leaves the room. Not that they are alone they can discuss what worried Aphadon. Additionally, Halbarad knows that he can also discuss his own worries. But he decides that it is best if Aphadon’s worries are discussed first. His are not so much, Halbarad thinks. Aphadon’s voice calls him out of his thoughts.

“Well, Halbarad why do you not sit down on your bed. I will go to collect a chair. Then we can discuss all that we have to discuss.”

Halbarad nods. It would be best were they both to sit down. The discussions they will have will most likely take quite some time. Sitting down will make everything that much easier. That is why Halbarad walks to his bed and sits down on it. Not much later, Aphadon joins him with a chair.

“Well, what has you worried Aphadon?”

Halbarad decides to simply ask Aphadon to tell him what has him worried. That what he can react to it in a way that will best reassure Aphadon. At least that is what he intends to do.

Additionally, he is aware that he might address his own worry at the same time. If they concern the same subject that is.

Halbarad notices that it takes Aphadon a while to answer. Most likely since Aphadon has to think about how he will state his worry such that he will understand it. But after some time, Aphadon has to have figured it out since he speaks up.

“I am worried about the future if the march turns bad. I do not know how the situation is outside of the city. Not that I know much about the situation in the city since the warden has not allowed me to explore the city. If I could have done that or had been allowed to go with the host then I would have known. I would have known what we could do and what we might face.”

“Well, I am worried mostly about Aragorn. Will he be alright after the battle is finished or not? That is what I am most worried about. Also, I worry about how many men will die during the battle. Will there be enough left to keep everyone safe afterward. I am sure that we are both aware that they will not be able to kill every orc in Mordor.”

“Then we both worry about the march. But I have to tell you that you are right about one thing. There will be orcs who will survive the battle.”

“That is both true. The only thing we can do now is hope for the best. There is little else we can do. I told lord Faramir something similar.”

Then it is silent for a short while during which Halbarad and Aphadon think over what has just been discussed. Halbarad is glad that they both worry about the march. Something which is understandable considering that the host will decide the fate for all. That no one in the city can see how it goes adds for the worry that exists in the hearts of men.

Halbarad is certain that it is present even though he has barely had anything contact with the people. In fact, he has only had contact with healers. Not to say that they are unkind. It is simply so that he would have preferred to be in the city among the people instead of here. If only that was possible. Aragorn will be furious if he does it and the warden will never allow it.

He then remembers that Aphadon has something else to discuss with him. At least, he thinks Aphadon does based on an earlier reaction of him. He does not imagine that what they discussed just yet is that which Aphadon does not want to be overheard. As such he needs Aphadon to speak up.

Seeing that Aphadon does not address the matter, Halbarad considers what his options are. One is to wait and let Aphadon come to him with it. Or he can ask Aphadon to tell him what else is bothering him. Considering both options, it quickly becomes clear that the second one is the best. This since then he will certainly receive the most complete answer he can get. Otherwise, it might take him some time to learn about it.

“Aphadon, what else is bothering you? I could clearly notice earlier that something was bothering you.”

“Ah yes. You want to know why I wanted to talk to you in private, am I right?”

“Yes, I do want to know that. So do not dance around it and just tell me. I know it he is something important otherwise you would not have insisted on meeting in private.”

“You are right about that. But let me first ask you something.”

“Of course.”

Halbarad is intrigued by this. What could be so important that Aphadon first wants to ask him something? Most likely something that has to do with what is worrying him. Or else Halbarad does not believe that Aphadon would ask him such.

“Do you know how lord Denethor died?”

“No, I do not. But now that you mention it I have not heard about him at all since we are here. I would have thought that people would talk about him after his death. But to not do that. I wonder what could have happened that the people do not talk about it. Do you know anything about it?”

Halbarad does not understand why Aphadon addresses just that. Why would that have him worried? It is true that it is worrying that the people do not talk about lord Denethor. It is normal that they talk about a lord who died. Always it is discussed what kind of lord this person has been as well as what they have to thank him for. This he knows from his own experience.

But why worries Aphadon so much, Halbarad does not understand. It does not make sense to him. It is not as if Aphadon has not heard about the circumstances surrounding lord Denethor’s death. Or has he not heard about it before? It could be a reason as to why Aphadon is worried. But right now, he has to determine if it is what worries Aphadon.

“I have heard stories about the way lord Denethor died. They quite horrified me to listen to. I did try to talk to some healers about it to confirm whether what I heard is true or not. Unfortunately, they refused to tell me anything. It appears as if there is a ban on discussing it.”

Now he knows for certain that it is the way lord Denethor died that has Aphadon worried. He wonders what the people say how lord Denethor died. Do they tell the truth? Or has there been some fake story made up? Halbarad knows the truth since Aragorn has told him how lord Denethor died before he left. Well, there is only one way to find out what Aphadon has heard.

“What have you heard, Aphadon?”

He receives a suspicious look from Aphadon. It is clear that Aphadon suspects something. Most likely that he knows the true story or part of it. His question confirms his own suspicions.

“You know something, do you not?”

“Yes, I do. But right now I would like to know what you have heard. That way I can tell if you know the truth or not.”

“Alright, I will tell you what I heard. Just so you know I am glad to have found someone who knows the truth. Aragorn told you, did he not?”

After he nods, Aphadon tells him what he has heard.

“I heard that lord Denethor died by burning himself alive. But not before he tried to burn his own son. From what I have heard he was stopped by a guard, a halfling and Mithrandir. Right now the guard is suspended because he has broken the law. At least that is what I heard.

I am actually glad that the guard has not been jailed since that is the normal thing that happens to lawbreakers. But all that does not explain why lord Denethor did what he did. But more importantly, what does it say about his son who is now the ruling steward?”

“I do not know why lord Denethor did what he did. All I know is that madness took lord Denethor at that time. I have interacted with Lord Faramir, the son of Lord Denethor, and he appears to sane to me. You have also interacted with him when I was brought to this room.”

“So that was lord Faramir is. But still, you should have taken one of us with you when you met him.”

“Do you think that I will be harmed here. Do not be absurd, Aphadon.”

Halbarad is annoyed that Aphadon would think that he could be in danger here. The houses are well guarded. But more importantly, he does not believe that Lord Faramir is in danger of losing his mind as Aphadon fears. He appears fully sane to him but a bit worried about the future. As well as worried how well he will be able to do his duty. Both are understandable concerns to him.

At the same time, he sees how Aphadon bows his head in surrender. It is clear to him that Aphadon accepts the fact that he is not worried about lord Faramir. Not worried for the current time hit for the future.

It does not take long before he sees a frown appearing on Aphadon’s face. He has an idea what Aphadon is confused about. He suspects that it is to do with Aphadon’s previous search for him. Aphadon must be wondering where he was.

“From where did you come, Halbarad, when Bergil guided you down those stairs?”

“Where I was? That is an interesting story.”

Well, now he knows for certain that he was right in his assumption about Aphadon the reason for Aphadon to frown just yet. Or just tells him that he knows his friend well. Well enough that he can predict him.

Looking at Aphadon he can see how he is looking attentively at him. The curious look in Aphadon’s eyes tells him that Aphadon is really interested in knowing where he was. That he called it an interesting story will have contributed to it. That is certain.

The silence that falls, Halbarad used to think about how he will best explain where he was. He decides, after some careful consideration, that it is best, to begin with, explaining from where he came. That will ensure that Aphadon can learn as much as he wants about his meeting and also as much as he can give him. Not that he thinks that there are many matters which he cannot discuss with him. So that is when he decides to answer Aphadon’s question.

“I came back from a meeting with Lord Húrin and the master archivist of Minas Tirith. They wanted to learn all they could of Aragorn from me.”

Now he has to wait to see what Aphadon wants to know first. Does he first want to know who lord Húrin is or what the meeting is about?

“There are two things that I would like to have explained. Let us start with who this lord Húrin is? I have never heard of him before.”

“I am not surprised for before the meeting I had never heard of him either. But what I learned is that Lord Húrin is an elderly man who seems to currently rule Gondor in Lord Faramir stead. We both know that it is difficult to rule when one is injured or sick.”

“That is true. That is certainly difficult to do. It was to be expected that someone temporary looks after the matters of state while Lord Faramir recovers from his injuries.”

Halbarad nods in answer. He waits for Aphadon to continue. He knows that Aphadon will continue for he seems to be thinking about something. It does not take long for Aphadon to explain what he was thinking about.

“What you told me, Halbarad means that you met with Lord Faramir’s representation. Something which will only be in effect so long as Lord Faramir is not allowed to leave the houses nor to assume his duties. It will also mean that lord Húrin must be keeping lord Faramir informed so that he knows what is going on once he actually takes on his duty.”

“You are right in that, Aphadon. But there is one thing I do not know. That is how often lord Faramir and lord Húrin meet. As such I cannot tell you when lord Faramir will learn about the meeting.”

“Well, that is something which we will most likely never learn. So I will see if I can learn anything about it. But we have at least cleared up who lord Húrin is.”

“Cleared up for you, yes. You do not need to look into it. When they meet is of no concern to me.”

It is a nice offer but as Halbarad has said when they meet does not concern him. He has no need to know when they meet for matters of Gondor’s rule do not concern him. He was asked to look after lord Faramir but it does not mean that he needs to know what lord Faramir does at any time of the day. Nor with whom he meets. If a meeting concerns him then he will learn it during one of their garden meetings.

Halbarad has decided already that he will seek lord Faramir out every morning in the garden. If lord Faramir comes to the garden that is. He will not actively seek him out for he does not want to raise any suspicions. Where he to do so then he would surely raise suspicions with someone. And that is not what he intends to do.

“What is the other thing you would like to know, Aphadon?”

“I would like to know why you met with lord Húrin as well as why you did not inform me about it?”

“That is not one thing, Aphadon. That are two.”

Halbarad laughs silently and shakes his head. Aphadon he sees shrugging his shoulders. Both know that he is not upset by it but merely amused. Which he shows by the reaction he gives to Aphadon’s question.

“What would you have done had you had I informed you about the meeting?”

“I would have accompanied you there and either attended the meeting with you or waited for you outside the room. But you have not answered my question yet.”

“Alright, I did not inform you because I did not know that I would have a meeting when we met beforehand. I only learned of it when the warden informed me about it. Also, I could hardly seek you out when I learned about it for I did not know where you were. Not had I the time for it. The warden guided me to the meeting as soon as I consented to it.”

“That must have been frustrating for you, right? But when did you learn why they wanted to learn with you?”

“Oh, it was frustrating. Luckily once I arrived at the meeting lord Húrin informed me about the reason he requested to meet me. He wanted to learn all he could about Aragorn.”

Halbarad can see the amusement clearly on Aphadon’s face. What it is about Halbarad does not know for certain. Even though he has some ideas as to what amuses Aphadon. As he knows how Aphadon will be if he gets even more amused, Halbarad decides to quell it. To do that he decides to explain everything that was discussed during the meeting he has with lord Húrin.

His explanation has a mixed success for there are matters that amuse Aphadon greatly. One of them is the thought that the master of protocol might seek him out to question him. Another is the thought that Aragorn will be pressured into getting an heir soon. Everything else either does not amuse him or not as much.

Afterward, Aphadon asks him about his meeting with Lord Faramir. Halbarad suspects it has to do with Aphadon trying to determine what kind of man Faramir is. And also what they could have had to discuss. This knowledge, Halabarad is certain about, will aid Aphadon in any information gathering that he needs to do or intends to do. Aphadon will then know what he can question him about and what not. Not that he feels a great need for Aphadon to gather information.

Halbarad does tell Aphadon what Faramir and he talked about. He sees no need to keep matters secret for there was no sensitive matter discussed. It was all matters that concern Faramir personally or concern his duty. This knowledge does manage to fully calm Aphadon down.

“You did right in the way you treated lord Faramir, Halbarad. It will have eased his concerns as I am sure you also know. He will not know that you treated him in a similar manner as we do treat young men in the villages.”

“No, he did not know that. But I actually treated him in a similar manner as Aragron and I were treated in the past. As well as how I treat my own children.”

After that silence falls over the room for some time. It gives both men the time to consider everything they just learned. Or in Halbarad’s case, everything that has been discussed. It has been more interesting than he suspected beforehand. The silence lasts until Aphadon breaks it.

“Good night, Halbarad.”

“Good night, Aphadon.”

With that Aphadon stands up and leaves the room. Now Halbarad finally has found the peace he was looking for before he met with Aphadon in the garden. He now intends to go over everything that has happened today. Or at least those matters which he has not been able to consider earlier. Unfortunately, before he can do so, Halbarad falls asleep.

* * *

A few hours after his meeting with princess Éowyn, Faramir walks back to his room. He considers how he might learn more about her for he is still intrigued by her. During his meeting with princess Éowyn, he was not able to learn a lot about her. He could only learn that which she said and hinted at. Nothing more. And as expected there was no one around who could give him the answers he seeks. The answers he was looking for after she left.

Suddenly, he is reminded that master Neston must know something about her. Maybe from him, he can learn more. Even if it is not a lot that master Neston can explain to him. All bits will help him learn more about princess Éowyn. As such he decides that he needs to find a way to meet with master Neston.

Looking around the hallway for he has not yet reached his room, Faramir sees an apprentice walking in his direction. He smiles to himself. Now he knows how he will be able to get master Neston to meet with him.

The only thing left now is to request the apprentice to summon master Neston to his room. As such he stops walking and waits for the apprentice to reach him. This way they will not cross each other to fast for him to address the apprentice. Also, it will not do for him to speak loudly in this hall. Master Neston and the other healers will not appreciate it. Knowing how stressed they must now be, Faramir refuses to add to it.

Soon the apprentice reaches him and he sees that it is a young maiden. He reaches for her arm and once she is close enough he grabs it.

“Mistress, would you please summon the warden to my room?”

“As you wish, my lord steward. Is there anything I ought to tell him as to why you require his presence?”

“Only that I have some questions that I hope he can answer.”

“Yes, my lord. I will tell him that. I am certain that he will meet with you as soon as possible.”

He smiles at her in thanks. Then she bows to him and leaves. He sees her walking along the hallway towards the area he knows the offices are. He suspects that she goes that way in search of master Neston. Once she has realized his request to master Neston then she will resume that what she was doing when he intercepted her. Now he only needs to wait for master Neston to arrive at his room. As he needs to be there, Faramir walks towards his room.

Soon he arrives at his room and waits for the warden to arrive. As he needs to spend his time doing something and does not want to spend it on his own thoughts, Faramir looks around the room. He is pleasantly surprised to find a book lying in the table. It is a book which he recognizes instantly. This book he was reading before he left to retake Osgiliath. He quickly decides to continue with reading it and thus picks it up.

Around an hour later, Faramir is disturbed by a knock on his door. A door he has not noticed was closed. Well, he must have closed it after entering the room. Hoping it is master Neston, he grants the person on the other side permission to enter his room.

“Enter!”

As he suspected it is master Neston who enters the room. He sees how the master is looking worriedly at him. Not a real surprise for him. His request was not specific so master Neston must be wondering what he could possibly have questions about.

“My lord, I was told that you have questions. How can I help you?”

Faramir knows that even though the questions have been asked neutrally there are unsaid parts to it. Aspects he can detect since he knows master Neston well. The frown on his face serves actually to confirm the presence of unsaid parts.

One of those parts is the question of him having questions pretending his wounds. Another would be wondering if he wants to know who else is in the houses. Those people who he has not seen or heard about before. Both not surprising but in this case wrong.

“I was wondering if you could tell me more about the princess Éowyn?”

That she has been intriguing him ever since the meeting, Faramir refuses to mention. It is not something that master Neston needs to know about.

“I know some things about her. But there is someone present in the houses who knows her better than I do. He came with her to our aid and is recovering here from his own wounds. If you agree then I will summon him to your room.”

“That would be appreciated, master Neston.”

“Is there anything else we can aid you with, my lord?”

“Yes, actually there is one matter. Princess Éowyn requested to have a room with a view to the east. I know that there are rooms with such a view free in the noble wing. As such, I was wondering if she could have one of those rooms assigned to her?”

He knows better than to order master Neston to give her such a room. In the houses of healing, he rules and a steward or other noble has to accept it. They can only make a request which he decides if he grants them. Now he hopes that he will grant his request else he will have to disappoint princess Éowyn. Something which he does not like to do since he wants to get to know her better. It would not work to his benefit.

“She did ask me the same thing, my lord. I brought her to you in the hope that you could talk her out, is it? Nothing good comes of watching to the east. Especially if one does so for quite some time.”

“I understand, master Neston. But you did not answer my question.”

“Díheno nin. It is true that there are enough rooms with a view as the princess requested. I will make the arrangements that she can move into then as soon as possible.”

Master Neston then bows to him and leaves the room. He is glad that master Neston has granted his request. Still, he has the impression that he did so reluctantly. Not that he will mind but it is something to remember. By remembering it he will ensure that he will not upset master Neston more than he will be right now and for some time.

Faramir knows that he needs to wait a while before the person who master Neston will send to him will be here. He wonders who it is but knows that he will know it once the person arrived. He knows too little about the princess to know who would know her well. Besides, he will meet with this person to learn about princess Éowyn.

Knowing all that he decides to go back to reading his book. With a little luck, he will be able to finish the book before the person arrives. He is reading for about thirty minutes when he hears a knock on the door. Well, knock? Not really a knock for he nearly missed it. It is not a very loud sound but not as soft as a child would knock be and not as loud as an adult would knock. This intrigues him for he wonders who master Neston has could send who would knock in such a way.

“Enter!”

When the door opens Faramir puts his book away. He has nearly finished it for he has only a few pages left to read. He put the book away because he wants to see who knocks. As such he looks to the door when it opens. In the opening, he sees a familiar shape appearing. It is the shape of a Perian that he sees. Is this the person master Neston said he would send to him?

“Hello, my lord. I’m Meriadoc Brandybuck but you should just call me Merry. The warden told me that you want to know about Éowyn. He thought I could tell you that. So what do you want to know about her?

Well, that confirms his suspicion that this is the person master Neston send to him. He smiles at Merry for he appreciates the directness with which Merry talks to him. It reminds him of how his men act around him. Well, they are a bit more polite than Merry but he does not mind. It is refreshing considering the way he will be addressed by the lords once he takes up his duties as steward.

But as they the name Merry. He has heard it before. Thinking about it he remembers from who he knows the name. Namely from Pippin. It has him smiling again because he knows that he will enjoy their conversation immensely.

Once he explains what he wants to know about princess Éowyn, Merry tells him all that he has to know. Due to Merry’s words, it is as if he starts to get to know her really well. They talk till the evening. Only then do they say goodbye to each other and rest for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> Díheno nin: forgive me


	11. Chapter 11

**March 21st** **  
**

In the morning, Faramir dresses and feels relieved when he does not feel much pain in his shoulder. It gives him hope that he might soon leave the houses and take up his duties as the steward. Duties which he would like to attend too as soon as possible. Just as he is considering that Beregond enters his room. 

“Suil, Beregond.”

Faramir made the decision to greet Beregond as soon as he saw him. He does not want Beregond to attend on him without being acknowledged by him. Especially, since he did not acknowledge Beregond the past few days. Or at least he did not acknowledge Beregond as much as he prefers to. Beregond’s respond comes immediately. 

“Suil, my lord. Are you feeling alright?”

Faramir smiles calmly because he knows that this is a normal question to ask. Considering his shoulder, he is can say that he is alright which he does tell Beregond. 

“Yes, Beregond, I feel fine. My shoulder does not pain me as much as it did yesterday.”

“I am glad to hear that.”

Well, that concludes that. Now he would like to know why Beregond came. He does not expect breakfast for another hour which would give him time to take a walk in the garden. This Faramir decides to look into it. 

“Why did you seek me out right now, Beregond? Breakfast should not be brought for an hour.”

“I know that, my lord. The reason I came actually concerns breakfast. I came to inform you that your breakfast will be delayed today. The kitchens are delayed due to an incident that occurred in the early hours.”

Well, that explains why breakfast is delayed. He is glad to know about it now. It means that he will have more time to spend in the garden. Unfortunately, he also knows that some will not be pleased with this. When he notices Beregond’s worried look, he decides to reassure him. 

“That is no problem, Beregond. I only hope that no one was injured during the incident.”

“No one was seriously injured, my lord. A few maidens suffered some scratches but are already treated for it or receiving it as we speak.”

“That is good to know. If you could arrange for my breakfast to be brought to the garden today.”

He got the idea of eating breakfast in the garden just now. He was considering how to determine when he will receive his breakfast. Something which he expects to be difficult in the current situation. Especially, because he does not want to be treated any different from the others who reside in the houses. 

Also, he wants to take a walk in the garden. Combining it with the uncertainty concerning at what time he will receive breakfast, makes for a difficult situation. As such he decided that he could eat his breakfast in the garden. 

Beregond is quick to respond to his request. 

“Ben iest lîn, my lord. I will make the arrangements.”

“I will go to the gardens then to take a walk there. Once my breakfast has been brought to the garden, please seek me out.”

“Carathin i iest lîn, my lord. I hope you have a good walk in the garden.”

Then Beregond bows to him and leaves the room. Faramir is not far behind him in leaving the room. He sees how Beregond walks in the direction of where he remembers the kitchen of the houses is located. Most likely to inquire about his breakfast. Or at least that is the only reason he can imagine. He does not believe that Beregond would have come to the houses to look after him without eating beforehand. Faramir smiles amused at Beregond’s dedication to him and turns towards the garden. 

As he walks towards the garden, Faramir starts to wonder why Beregond keeps looking after him. It is strange for he is certain that Beregond as a member of the citadel guard is more needed by them than that he needs him. The citadel guards are already with few members in the city that every man will be needed. For Beregond to then be allowed to keep looking after him does not make sense. 

This is another thing he needs to inquire about just as he needs to do with the incident in the kitchen. He wants to know how badly everyone was injured. Also, he wants to know how the incident could occur. It is something which he will have to inquire about at a later time for he is nearly in the garden. 

Once he walks into the garden, he looks around to see who is already in the garden. So far he cannot see many people. He only sees a few men walking around. Men who he does not recognize even though some of them are Gondorians. That he does not recognize the Rohirrim is not surprising. Well, one Rohirrim he does recognize. 

He sees princess Éowyn standing on the bastion clad in all with. She seems to be gleaming in the sunlight. Seeing this makes him smile. He walks towards her and addresses her once he approaches the part of the bastion she stands. He does this while he still at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the bastion. 

At hearing her name called, Faramir sees princess Éowyn turning around and walking down from the bastion. They greet each other and then take a quiet walk in the garden. He finds the companionship from her easing. Even though they are not talking, he draws comfort out of her presence. They have been walking for about an hour when Beregond finds them.

“My lord? Your breakfast is ready. Where would you like to eat it?”

Faramir sees that Beregond has his breakfast in a basket. Or at least that he assumes for else Beregond’s question does not msk3 sense to him. He already knows where he will eat. From his walk from yesterday, he knows that there is a table not far from here. It is there that he intends to eat his breakfast. 

“There is a table not far from here. I will eat my breakfast there.”

“Ben iest lîn, my lord.”

He mentions for Beregond to follow him as he guides him to the table the saw yesterday. Princess Éowyn follows them quietly. It gives him an idea which he decides to ask the princess. 

“Princess Éowyn, have you eaten breakfast already?”

“No, I have not, my lord. I was told that it was delayed due to an incident in the kitchen. But why do you ask that?”

“I was told that to. But as to why I ask you, I ask because I would like to know if you would do me the honor of breaking your fast with me?”

“I would be honored to, my lord.”

Faramir smiles at the princess’ pleased expression. He now knows that he managed to make her happy. Happy to break her fast with him. He smiles at her and gets a smile in response. 

“Princess Éowyn, I will go collect your breakfast and bring it to you here, if you would like me to do that?”

Beregond’s question pulls them both back to the present and from their staring at each other. Faramir instantly pulls an impassive expression over his face. A reaction he gained from his experience with the court ever since he was allowed to attend court and with his father during the past few years. 

As for princess Éowyn, he sees how a flush goes over her face. It is quickly replaced by a look he recognizes immediately. The look of a noblewoman wanting to keep her feelings to herself. Or to not have potential weaknesses notices. The last he has not only seen on noblewoman but also warriors. 

“I would appreciate it were you to do that for me.”

Beregond nods and follows them to where Faramir is guiding them. Faramir knows that Beregond can only collect the princess’ breakfast once he has placed his breakfast down. 

Once they reach the place Faramir mentioned, Beregond places his basket on the ground next to the table. He then bows to them before walking away. They are then left alone. 

Faramir mentions for princess Éowyn to sit down. Once she sits, Faramir sits down. He sees how she is looking around the area they sit in. He meanwhile takes his time to consider everything he needs to ask Lord Húrin later. His musing is interrupted by princess Éowyn speaking up. 

“He is a loyal servant, is he not? Does he always serve you when you are in this city?”

“Beregond is loyal, of that, I have no doubt. But he does not serve me when I am in the city. He is a member of the citadel guard.”

“Would the guard not need Beregond more than you need him?”

Princess Éowyn breaks the silence he let rise in an attempt to give her the time to process what he has told. Her question cake just as he wanted to continue with his explanation. It addresses just that which he intended to explain to her. At least as best as he is able to. 

Faramir sees how her brows are furrowed in confusion. An emotion he totally understands since he still feels the same emotion with this subject. He decides to answer her question quickly as he does not want her to become even more confused than she already is. 

“Yes, I imagine that they need him more than I do. Unfortunately, I do not know why he keeps attending on me. I never asked him to attend on me.”

Princess Éowyn nods and they lapse into silence once more. As they stay in one place and are not walking around the garden, Faramir takes his time to listen to the birds as they fly by. At the same time, he looks around to determine which plants grow here. When he first found this place, he did not pay much attention to these matters. 

The area they are in is mostly hidden by bushes. There are nice shades around it created by the trees. The shades cover the table allowing for a cool place to sit in the warmer months nor will the sun blind them should it become visible. 

In front of the bushes and beneath the trees grow a variety of flowers. He wonders who made this area if one actually did. The way the plants grow it is likely that they came here by the hand of nature. Not the hands of men. 

All by all, it gives off a calming feeling. At the same time, he also knows that they are secluded here. Thus they will most likely not be disturbed a lot here. If at all. That is why he knows that he has chosen a good place for them to eat their breakfast. They will be able to eat it in peace. 

Looking back at princess Éowyn, Faramir sees that she is doing the same thing he does. It is then that he decides to ask her what she finds of this place. 

“Princess, what do you think of this small area?”

Hopefully, he will get an honest answer from her and not one that the ladies of Gondor would normally give him. In an attempt to flatter him, they would give him the answer they think he expects. That answer is not the one he seeks. 

But considering what he knows of her, Faramir does not believe that she would answer similar to the ladies of Gondor. She seems, to him, to be a person who tells people the truth. Whether that is a factual truth or an opinionated truth, Faramir cannot determine right now. He can only determine that, or at least try to, once she has answered his question. On that answer, he does not have to wait long. 

“I find it a peaceful place. More peaceful than the remainder of the garden because of its seclusion. Not that the garden is not peaceful.”

Faramir is pleased by this response. But just when he wants to respond, Beregond returns with princess Éowyn’s breakfast. This is also stored in a basket, Faramir suspects for Beregond carries another basket. He places the basket also on the ground. 

Once both baskets are in the ground, Beregond starts to unpack the basket containing the princess’ breakfast. The content he places on the table in front of her.  He sees how soon enough a bowl covered with a blanket is placed in the table. From the smell that escapes, he suspects that the bowl contains porridge. The blanket, Faramir believes, serves to prevent the porridge from cooling too much too soon. The bowl is soon followed by a small kettle, a few bowls with toppings, a cup, and cutlery. 

Faramir does not understand why she would want porridge right now. He has never liked it and as such was more than happy when he was no longer expected to eat it. Not that he will refuse it if it is offered to him. But he does not know the customs of Rohan. They could be different from those of Gondor. If he is honest then he expects them to be different. 

It is then that he notices that his breakfast has been placed on the table. It consists of baked bread, bacon, cooked egg, and cheese. It is all placed on a plate covered by a larger plate. He also had a small kettle, cup, and cutlery placed before him. 

Faramir smiles for he is happy to have one of his most liked breakfasts served. He looks to Beregond and thanks him with a nod. Beregond bows and leaves them alone after that. It is then that Faramir glances at the princess. He sees how she frowns at the breakfast he has had served. Wanting to know what caused her frown he decides to ask her. 

“Is there something, princess?”

“No, there is nothing wrong, my lord. I am merely surprised at your choice of breakfast.”

“I could say the same about your choice, princess. Apparently, we both have strange choices in breakfast in each other’s eyes.”

They share a laugh at this. They find it amusing that they choose for breakfast that the other finds strange. It should be noted that not all the requests for a breakfast choice can be served. There is simply not so much of a stock of food in Minas Tirith. 

“Could I ask you something, my lord?”

“Of course, princess.”

Faramir wonders what it is that princess Éowyn wants to ask him. He cannot imagine anything that she might want to ask him. Well, now he will have to wait and see what he will be asked. 

“I would ask you to call me by my name.”

That is a request he can easily follow. But then he will also make a request of his own. 

“Then, Éowyn, I would ask you to do the same. Please call me by my own name.”

“I will do so, Faramir. Shall we start with our breakfast?”

“Of course, we do not want to have to eat it cold, do we?”

“No, we do not want that.”

It is then that they both start on their breakfast. They prepare their breakfast so that it is to their liking. As they start to eat, Faramir considers what they can talk about now. A silent breakfast has always made him nervous. It feels to him as if he is waiting to be berated. It also gave him enough time to think over too many things. 

After some consideration, he finally decides what they can talk about. They can talk about how they are doing right now. He does not imagine that breakfast will last long. They are both starved based on how quickly they both started on their breakfast. 

Looking at Éowyn, he sees that she is absorbed by her breakfast. He had wondered if she would start a conversation. Or if he should do it. Considering the circumstances, he knows that he needs to start a conversation which he does almost immediately. 

“Éowyn, I was wondering how you are doing today?”

He waits for her to answers since she has just taken a bite from her porridge. While waiting he starts on his toast. There is little else for him to do. Long he does not have to wait for an answer. 

“I am doing as well as I can, Faramir. My arm is still a bit numb and painful. But that I blame on the break I suffered. The painkillers I receive help greatly with the pain. But when I move my arm it feels a bit sore. Something which will hopefully quickly pass.”

“I am glad to hear that you are doing fine. I too hope that your soreness will pass soon.”

He sees how she looks at him with an inquiring look. Is she wondering how he is doing? Or does something else occupy her thoughts? He knows that he will only find out once she actually asks her question. 

“How are you doing, Faramir?”

“I am doing fine, Éowyn. I have some pain in my shoulder from time to time but it is all manageable without needing to take painkillers. It is my hope that I can soon take on my duties.”

He decided to first give an answer before actually considering the question she asked him. Now that he has answered, Faramir considers the question he has been asked. It is a question which he had actually expected but at a later time. He thought that he would have time to ask her some questions before she would ask him questions. Now, it appears as if he will be the one who will be answering questions for some time. 

Looking at Éowyn once more, Faramir sees how she is looking a bit confused. By the speed with which she asked her previous question, he suspects that he will receive the next one rather quickly. Which is confirmed not long after. 

“If you have not yet taken on your duties as steward yet, then who looks after Gondor right now? I know someone must be doing it for else the cleaning and guard rotations I have seen would not have been happening yet.”

“Lord Húrin is overseeing everything until I can take on my duties. I know that he will actually be rather busy. He not only looks after my duties but also looks after his own duties.”

“And they are?”

“His duties are those of the keeper of the keys of Gondor.”

After Éowyn nods in answer, silence fills the breakfast table once more. Due to the falling of silence, he knows that Éowyn’s confusion has been resolved. The confusion he saw on her face when she asked about lord Húrin’s duties. 

Faramir also knows that now an opportunity has presented itself for him. He can now ask the questions he intended to ask her earlier. As he is determined not to let this opportunity pass, Faramir is quick to ask the question he finds the most important to ask. 

“Éowyn, have you talked with the healers about the soreness you feel in your arm?”

“Yes, I have. They told me to exercise my arm. So far I have not been able to do it a lot. Mostly due to not having anything to exercise with.”

He sees her shrugging while speaking. It makes him wonder if she does not know that she can exercise her arm with normal activities. It would give her an opportunity to exercise her arm while at the same time looking for something to exercise with. As he wants to find that out, Faramir decides he will ask her. 

“Do you know that most normal activities will give you an opportunity to exercise? That way you have time to slowly increase the amount of exercise your arm experiences. Also, you will then have time to exercise while looking for something to exercise with.”

He sees how Éowyn’s face lightens up at his suggestion. It shows that she has not considered it before. Just as he had thought. Éowyn’s words confirm that which he has seen on her face. 

“I did not know that it would give me enough opportunities to exercise. I thought that I would receive some exercises from the healers.”

“It is true that the healers will give you exercises. But it does not mean that you cannot exercise with your normal activities.”

“Thank you for your advice, Faramir. I will make good use of it, that I promise you.”

Éowyn smiles as she says this. Faramir smiles in return before replying. He is pleased that he could aid her in any way. 

“Your welcome, Éowyn.”

After this, they spend the remainder of their breakfast in silence. It is a comfortable silence they both enjoy immensely. Each can spend time on their own thoughts without eating alone. Faramir knows that he needs to seek lord Húrin out soon in order to learn what has been done and what needs to be done. 

About thirty minutes later, they have finished their breakfast. That is when Faramir stands up while holding his hand out to Éowyn. He hopes that she will accept his offer to take a walk through the garden. 

“Shall we take a walk in the garden, Éowyn?”

“Of course, but should we not clean our breakfast up?”

He can see the confusion in her face and smiles reassuringly. He does not see it as a problem if they do not clean up and tells her such. 

“No, we do not need to. I have seen Beregond approaching in the distance. He will be here soon and clean up after us. It will be no problem if we do not clean up. Shall we go?”

At his words, the confusion disappears and she smiles at him. Faramir feels her hand slipping into his as she speaks. 

“Yes, let us go.”

So saying they spend the next few hours walking in the garden. They take their time by walking around slowly. Faramir makes sure that he shows Éowyn the best-hidden places there are during their walk. Places which he is sure Éowyn enjoys knowing about. All these places allow for some quiet in a sometimes busy garden. Especially, when many wounded seek the garden out shortly before noon, during the midday and shortly before dinner. Then it is typically quite busy, if not very, in the garden. 

As they near the end of their walk, Faramir decides to ask Éowyn if he can walk her to her room. It is something which he has been considering for some time during their walk. He hopes she will accept it for he has come to enjoy her companionship. He would like to spend some more time with her if he can.

“Would you allow me to walk you to your room, Éowyn?”

“Of course I will allow you to do that, Faramir. How did you know that I would want to return to my own room now?”

“I noticed your exhaustion while we were walking. As such, I thought that you would want to lay down for a while.”

While he answers, Faramir starts to guide them back into the houses. At the same time, he slows his steps down so that Éowyn can better keep up with her. 

“That I surely want to do.”

As she says this, Faramir sees that she is annoyed about something. Wondering what it is, he quickly determines a likely cause. That is the fact that she cannot do what she did before without tiring so much. All due to the wounds she suffered during the war. But to know if this is true he will have to ask her. An objective he quickly abandons. It is not of importance right now. He can always ask about it later. 

Soon they are approaching Éowyn’s room and he knows that it is time for him to ask a question. A question that has been on his mind for some time now. Even while he was considering the cause of her annoyed.

“Éowyn, would you do me the honor of breaking your fast with me again tomorrow? Maybe even for the remainder of the time, we are in the houses?”

“I would gladly do that, Faramir. I enjoyed the breakfast we had.”

“I did too, Éowyn.”

Faramir then proceeds to take her hand and places a kiss on the back. Looking up, he smiles at Éowyn. At the same time, he notices the flush that grows on her face. 

When he eases his hold on her hand, Éowyn practically snatched her hand back. She cradles it before her chest covered with the other hand. Faramir smiles reassuringly at her before bowing. 

“Good day, Éowyn. I hope your rest will restore your strength.”

“I hope so too. Good day, Faramir.”

Faramir leaves then but he did notice how Éowyn seemed shocked by his action. Her voice and actions clearly told him that. He hopes that he has not offended her by his actions. 

At the same time, he is confused by her shock. His actions were completely normal for interactions between members of noble families. As such it should not have resulted in shock. Yet, they did. 

Before he knows it, Faramir feels the wind blowing through his hair again. Looking around, he sees that he has walked back to the garden without being aware of it. Knowing that he has nothing to do today, Faramir decides to walk again through the garden. Maybe he will see one of the men he knows during his walk. Or someone else. Regardless of who he will meet, he will talk to them. If only to pass time. 

During his walk, he comes upon a few of his rangers. He then spends some talking to them to learn how they have been doing. He learns that they are recovering well and are hoping to be back with the Rangers as soon as possible. Well as possible? More likely as soon as the healers allow them to go back to the field. A hope that grew when they learned that the healers expect them to make a full recovery. 

After this talk, he continues to walk and does not meet anyone for some time. That time he uses to think about his own recovery and his plans for the future. Well, the future? For as far as he can think about the future considering the uncertainty of everyone’s future. 

While thinking about this, Faramir suddenly sees a familiar person sitting on one of the benches. This person turns out to be Lord Halbarad. Halbarad sits on one of the benches looking up into the sky. As he has done with his rangers, Faramir approaches Halbarad to talk to him for a moment. 

“Good morning, my Lord Halbarad. How are you doing?”

“Good morning, Lord Faramir. I am doing as fine as can be in this situation. I have not yet regained my strength. Not that I would expect it considering the injury I suffered. And how are you doing, Lord Faramir?”

“I am glad to hear that. I am doing fine and hope to be able to leave the houses soon. But what injury did you suffer, my lord. If I might ask that is.”

“You may ask. I suffered a cut in my sight due to my wandering thoughts during a battle.”

Halbarad smiles self-reprobating. Faramir gets the impression that Lord Halbarad knows that he should not have done that. It would not surprise him when Lord Halbarad would have already berated himself for it. As Lord Halbarad does not say any more, Faramir decides to walk further. But before he can go far, lord Halbarad’s voice stops him. 

“Do not leave just yet, Lord Faramir. Please join me for a while.”

“Of course, my lord.”

Turning around, Faramir walks back to Lord Halbarad and sits down next to him on the bench. They spend some time in silence before Lord Halbarad speaks up. 

“It seems so peaceful here. Do you not think so, Lord Faramir. 

“It is peaceful, my lord. That I agree with. But it will not stay like this during the entire day. It can become considerably busy in the garden before noon, during the midday and shortly before dinner.”

“That I certainly believe, Lord Faramir. Those are the times when everyone, who can, wants to be outside. No one wants to spend more time inside than is absolutely necessary.”

Faramir sees how Lord Halbarad gets lost in his thoughts after this. The way Lord Halbarad looks tells Faramir that he is worried about something. Or at the very least wondering about something. As such, he chooses not to respond to what lord Halbarad says. 

“I have been wondering, Lord Faramir, what the state of the city is?”

So that is what lord Halbarad was thinking about. Luckily, that is something to which he can respond easily. 

“The city is as fine as it can be. In the lower levels, the damage is severe but higher up the damages are not so severely. Some areas were even spared the consequences of the siege. That is what I know so far.”

“It is good to know that not the entire city was affected. But what do you plan to with the damages? And what are your plans for the future?”

“Time will have to tell what I can do with both. Right now, I can barely do anything.”

Faramir hopes that lord Halbarad is unable to hear or notice that he is upset by his inability to do a lot. Hope which disappears with the next words. 

“I can understand that you are upset by not being able to do a lot. Still, there must be something that you can do from the houses?”

Faramir is confused as to why Lord Halbarad would say that.  Is he hinting at something? Besides confusion, he also feels surprised. Surprise as to what reason lord Halbarad could have to say this.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:  
> Suil: greetings  
> Ben iest lîn: as you wish  
> Carathin i iest lîn: I will do as you wish


	12. Chapter 12

“Why do you say that, Lord Halbarad?”

“I say that for there must be someone who rules the city and Gondor while you are in the houses of healing. I am certain that you have contact with this person. When you meet with him, you could ask this person to do things you want to see done. Or to ask this person what you can do from the houses.”

Faramir looks to the sky for he does not want Lord Halbarad to see his face. It is one of confirmation for it is true that he is in contact with Lord Húrin who looks after the city and Gondor for him. In fact, he has planned to meet with him.

At the same time, he gets the impression that Lord Halbarad knows something based on the way he spoke to him. Maybe he knows that lord Húrin is looking after the city and Gondor for him. But how would he know that? That Faramir does not know. For as far as he knows both men have not met each other.

Faramir looks to lord Halbarad and sees him looking expectedly at him. Lord Halbarad clearly expects an answer from him. He decides quickly to leave his confusion for what it is and give Lord Halbarad the answer he seeks. At least, he hopes that he will give Lord Halbarad an answer. Not that he gives him confirmation for that will mean that he has missed something.

“You are right, Lord Halbarad. Someone looks after Gondor and the city while I am in the houses. That person is Lord Húrin who is at the same time also the keeper of the keys for the realm.”

“Then you could ask Lord Húrin that which I told you.”

“Maybe. I will need to think about it.”

Faramir refuses the do as Lord Halbarad suggested without considering it. He looks up to the sky once more to consider how best to ask what is on his mind. He wonders and has for some time now if Lord Halbarad has met Lord Húrin somewhere. He wonders how best to ask this question without making it seem like he is prying into someone’s affairs. In the end, he decides to go for an easy question.

“Do you know Lord Húrin, Lord Halbarad?”

“Yes, I do know him since yesterday. He had summoned me to a meeting by sending the warden to me. Lord Húrin was accompanied during the meeting by the chief archivist.”

“I did not know about this meeting.”

Faramir frowns as he says this. He wonders why Lord Húrin would have organized a meeting and has not informed him. He would have like to be present for the meeting so that he will know what it has been discussed. Now, he will have to inquire with Lord Halbarad and Lord Húrin for what was discussed.

At the same time, he has to hope that both are willing to share everything that has been discussed. He believes more that Lord Húrin will share everything than that Lord Halbarad will most likely do. He knows that he will not have to ask Lord Húrin intensively if Lord Halbarad answers the questions he has. Only time will tell if he will be so lucky.

“What was the reason for your meeting, Lord Halbarad?”

“Lord Húrin has some questions on a matter in which you will need to make a decision. He wanted me to provide him with the information you would need for your decision.”

That gives him some idea as to why Lord Húrin had organized the meeting. There are not a lot of matters that have Lord Halbarad has answers about. Most of those matters concern Lord Aragorn. What he knows of those matters is that collecting the information is not urgent right now. It could have waited for some time. Preferably until news about the host has reached them. Only then will those questions not be of any importance. But it does not explain why lord Húrin would have organized the meeting yesterday and not waited until their future is more certain.

Looking at Lord Halbarad, Faramir gets the impression that the Lord has not said something. As Lord Halbarad has already given him clues on something, Faramir is fairly confident that he will get more clues if he asks questions. That is why he decides to ask Lord Halbarad about it.

“Was there more discussed during the meeting? Besides the matter I need to make a decision on, I mean?”

“Yes, there was more discussed. One of those matters was your future. The other was some questions that the master of protocol would approach me on. Lord Húrin was considerate towards me to ask those questions so that the master of protocol would not seek me out. From what I understood about the master of protocol, he could start to press me for answers until he was satisfied with the answer he gets. That is what Lord Húrin wanted to spare me from for which I am grateful.”

“Yes, that sounds like the master of protocol. He can be like that in certain situations. I know that from personal experiences. I do want to assure you that he would never intend to offend you nor would he want to upset you.”

Faramir has to smile amused. He can certainly understand Lord Húrin’s decision to ask the questions of importance to the master of protocol. He would have done the same where he in Lord Húrin’s position. It serves a few purposes.

First, it serves to spare someone from potentially uncomfortable questioning. Secondly, it allows the person who asks the questions to know the answers. As such he would know the details that he might learn later or never.

With later, he means after the person who has been questioned tells him those answers out of their own violation. Or after having inquired with the master of protocol about it. The results of such inquiries vary. Sometimes they will be good and sometimes he might learn little to nothing.

Lastly, it serves to gain some confidence from the person one is helping. The confidence which might grow into trust one can use well in the future. And this is something that can be used by both persons when they need it. But the trust will not only grow between the person who asked and answered but also the person they are talking about. All in all, it was a good decision made by Lord Húrin.

As for Lord Halbarad’s latest answers, they only reconfirm his initial suspicion about the topic of conversation of the meeting. Namely, that it was about Lord Aragorn. It means that he will have to ask Lord Húrin about it. As he is hoping to meet with him soon, Faramir is certain that he will learn as much as he can about it soon.

“If you do not mind, Lord Halbarad then I will ask Lord Húrin about it.”

“I do not mind, Lord Faramir. By all means, you should ask about it. The questions were asked by Lord Húrin in your interest. So you need to know the answers I gave.”

Faramir nods in approval. He is happy with the answer he received. In fact, he only asked his question to learn what Lord Halbarad thinks about him inquiring with Lord Húrin about it. After this, they spend some time in silence before both go their separate ways.

Faramir walks back to his room after having sent a runner to seek out Lord Húrin. All the runner is told to tell Lord Húrin is that he wants to meet with him as soon as possible. That way, Faramir is confident that Lord Húrin will come to him as soon as he has time.

* * *

About an hour after having left the garden, a knock on his door has Faramir looking up. He hopes that it is Lord Húrin who just knocked. He is actually the only one he expects to seek him out now. Closing the book he was reading, Faramir bids the person to enter.

“Enter!”

Placing his book on his bedside table, he looks to the door to see who enters. He is pleasantly surprised to see Lord Húrin entering his room. Just as he hoped. Looking at Lord Húrin, Faramir notices a frown on the Lord's face as well as a worried look in his eyes.

“My lord, you wanted to meet with me?”

“Yes, I do. Earlier this morning I had an interesting meeting with Lord Halbarad. He told me something I did not expect. I do think you will know what I mean.”

While saying this, Faramir mentions for Lord Húrin to sit down at the table. He expects them to be busy for a while with this meeting. As such it would not do to do it standing. That would be way too exhausting for both. For Lord Húrin because of his age and for him because of his recovery.

“I have an idea, my lord. You mean the meeting Lord Halbarad, the chief archivist and I had yesterday, I assume?”

“I do mean just that. Could you explain to me why I was not informed that the meeting would take place?”

“I did not inform you, my lord, for I had learned that you were in a meeting.”

“Which meeting was I in and who told you that?”

Faramir is completely surprised by Lord Húrin’s answer. He has no idea which meeting he could mean. The only meeting he had was with Éowyn and Merry. The meeting with Éowyn was but a short one while the meeting with Merry laster a while longer. Most importantly, that meeting started late in the afternoon. But knowing all that does not explain who could have told Lord Húrin that he had a meeting.

“I was informed by master Neston that you were in a meeting with a perianth.”

Well, at least he now knows when the meeting with Lord Halbarad happened. Or at least, he has an idea at what time it happened. With this knowledge, he deems it time to approach a new topic. But first, he needs to end the previous topic.

“It is true that I had a meeting with Merry. But it was not so important that it could not be interrupted. But let us leave it at that. Why did you organize the meeting?”

“I had it organized for I wanted to confirm some information about Lord Aragorn. Information which the chief archivist was searching for and found again.”

“To be able to confirm or disconfirm the information the archivist found, you needed someone who knows Lord Aragorn well. You thought that with Lord Halbarad’s position, he would have knowledge about it.”

“Yes, my lord. That is why I asked to meet with Lord Halbarad.”

“Did you get the confirmed or disconfirmed?”

He wants to know this before approaching the matter of which information the archivist found again. Especially as he does not know which information Lord Húrin is talking about.

“It was confirmed, my lord. Not that it surprised me for it came from your father.”

“From my father?”

“Yes, my lord. Your father gathered the information and brought it to Gondor.”

Faramir shakes his head in confusion. What information about Lord Aragorn his father could have gathered, he does not know. It makes it all the more important for him to learn what information it is and where it came from. Or more likely, where his father gathered it.

“I was not aware that we had information about Lord Aragorn.”

He purposely looks questionable at Lord Húrin. He wants Lord Húrin to understand that he is confused by the existence of information about Lord Aragorn.

“Not many are, my lord. It was meant that way. Your father gathered it during a journey he made to Imladris. On his return, he brought it to the archive for safekeeping.”

Faramir can hear that there is something that Lord Húrin does not tell him. But what it is, Faramir does not know. He suspects that it has to do with the journey his father has made to Imladris. Most likely, the reason for making the journey.

At the same time, he gets the impression that inquiring about the reason will have no effect. Or at least not the kind of effect that he would like. That is why he does not ask about it. Maybe in time, he will learn about it. For example when he looks at the gathered information.

Now that he thinks about the information, he also starts to consider what he can do with it. For how he sees it there are two things he can do. The first, he can do, is asking Lord Húrin to tell him what information his father brought back from Imladris. The second is asking to see the papers. Considering his options, Faramir quickly concluded that the second one is the best he has.

“Would it be possible for me to see those papers? I would very much like to read them.”

“Ben iest lîn, my lord. I will arrange for you to receive them. When would you like to receive them?”

“Hannon lin, my lord. I would like to receive them as soon as possible. Preferably today if that is possible. Might I ask what you learned during the meeting? That which is not in the papers whose content was acknowledged as true, that is.”

“I think it would be possible for you to receive those papers today. As for informing you about the results of the meeting, I would be happy to do that for you, my lord.”

Lord Húrin then begins with explaining the Lord Aragorn’s marital status. Faramir is quite surprised to learn that the king is engaged and expected to marry soon. He would have expected that Lord Aragorn has been married for some years already and also to be a father. Especially as he learns Lord Aragorn’s age. Lord Aragorn is nearly the same age as his father has been. It makes it all the more confusing why Lord Aragorn would not have married before. Lord Aragorn could already have a son of his own age.

It is then that he learns that the stewards of Arnor have always been appointed to the position. None have held it in a hereditary way except for Lord Halbarad who was reconfirmed in it by Lord Aragorn. This can only mean two things. The first is that Lord Aragorn intends to make the position hereditary. The second is that Lord Halbarad has been appointed to the position based on his skills just as his father has been.

Lastly, he learns that Lord Húrin asked what Lord Halbarad’s thoughts about his future are. He gets explained on what Lord Aragorn will base his decision to appoint keep him around as steward of Gondor. Based on these, Lord Húrin is certain that Lord Halbarad was confident that he would retain his position. The confidence in his reappointment is reassuring but also strange. How would Lord Halbarad have the confidence to make such a statement when he is unable to predict his lord’s final decision?

Lord Halbarad’s confidence does give him some confidence but he does not dare hope too much. He could still be stripped of his office. Well, stripped? Not reappointed is the more accurate word to use. If that is the case then he will most likely also be sent from the city that has always been his home. Faramir knows that only time will tell now what his future will look like.


End file.
